The Klingon Incident
by Miss-Inquisitive-Sci-fi
Summary: The Enterprise receives notification of a planet seeking to join the federation and are instructed by Starfleet to open negotiations. Pike, Una and Spock head up the diplomatic visit, not knowing what they're really walking into. Spock alone has doubts but can he persuade his peers before the worst happens and matters spiral out of control for good? Pike Whump. Post Discovery Era.
1. Chapter 1

Chris cut the communication link, sighing heavily and he pinched his forehead wearily. He'd just received new orders from Starfleet Command that would divert him and the Enterprise for the next few days at least, and to make matters worst it was a diplomatic negotiation which wasn't exactly a favourite amongst the crew. Still, orders were orders and this sort of work was crucial to grow and support the future of the federation.

He reached out to his terminal and held down the communication button to speak directly to his XO, who currently had command on the bridge. "Number One we have new orders. Proceed to the coordinates I'm sending through now, warp factor 5."

Chris sent through the coordinates of the planet Thennoll to the bridge and heard the acknowledgement from his first officer. "Aye aye Captain, full speed ahead."

Pike cut off the communications line and felt the distinct feeling of the ship changing course, and the faint rumble of the engines speeding up. He smiled at the sensation, Number One was as efficient as ever. The Captain rose and made his way out of quarters, once again wishing that Enterprise had a ready room to use for sensitive calls with command. For now he simply had to make do with rushing to his quarters each time a high priority call came through, no matter how inconvenient that could be.

On his time aboard Discovery he had gotten used to having a ready room and he often had to check himself on the bridge of the Enterprise, when he almost called a meeting in the non-existent room. There were a lot of things and people on Discovery he had gotten used to being around, he had made attachments just in time to be ripped away from them for good. He shut down any further memories of the ship and the past before melancholy truly struck again, it had been months and months since the battle but the pain still hadn't faded.

_Here and now Chris._ He chided himself, knowing he was in public now and he could not appear weak or troubled in front of his crew.

Captain Pike strolled briskly along the familiar corridors and nodded at crew members he passed on his way to the turbo-lift; he kept half his mind on his surroundings and the other half on the upcoming challenges of the upcoming assignment.

Thennoll was a non-aligned world sitting inside federation space, they had been neutral for decades and Pike assumed they always would be. He had actually been involved in diplomatic negotiations with the Thennollians before, when the federation had started to grow desperate to align a planet which had such a rich source of natural minerals.

The negotiations had not gone well. There was nothing the federation representatives had done wrong per se, the Thennollians just weren't interested in being part of something like the Federation of Planets. They wanted to be left alone so the federation abided by their own rules and left them to it.

To hear that they had not only agreed to re-open proceedings to join the federation, but that they had actually been the ones to reach out was a major surprise. Another shock was that they had specifically requested the Enterprise and _his_ personal presence. To be honest Chris was shocked that the Thennollians could even remember who they had met with, perhaps the Enterprise had left more of a lasting impression than he remembered. In any case he would have to look up his notes and logs from that time, and refresh the foggy details.

Pike entered the turbo-lift and asked the computer for the bridge without consciously thinking about it, the ride was short and soon he could feel the lift beginning to slow. He shook off thoughts of the upcoming mission when the doors swished open and he heard the familiar bustle of the bridge reach his ears.

He strode out onto the bridge confidently and made a beeline for the centre chair, distantly hearing Yeoman Colt call out. "Captain on the bridge."

Number One turned and smiled a warm greeting at him and rose out of the chair in one smooth motion, indicating the change of command with a head tilt. Pike nodded back and sank into the Captain's chair, watching Number One slip back into her usual position at the helm.

"ETA to Thennoll Lieutenant Amin?" Pike asked as he started going through reports of what he had missed on the bridge.

"We should arrive in orbit in 3 hours, Sir."

So 3 hours to devise a convincing diplomatic package for Thennoll so they would agree to join the federation and share their precious resources; the only good thing they had going for them was the Thennollians had requested the proceedings _and_ the Enterprise. So that at least granted them some advantages. Chris didn't let the early wins cloud his judgement though, he knew from experience that this was going to be no small feat; he needed the best minds around him to ensure this was successful.

"Lieutenant Amin, gather any intel we've got on Thennoll and send it through to conference room 2. Number One, organise a head of department meeting in the conference room to commence in 30."

"Aye Sir." Came the respective replies.

With that all in hand Chris sank bank into the chair and pulled up all his personal logs and transcripts of his previous assignment on Thennoll, keen to gain any edge he could before they arrived in 3 hours. For some reason he had an instinctual feeling that this was going to be a very long couple of days.

* * *

Lieutenant Spock watched the world shimmer into existence behind a golden glimmer of light. He shook off the nauseating effects of the transporter and took in the space around him, noticing an envoy of what he presumed must be Thennollians approaching their landing party. He had read descriptions of their race from the briefing but seeing a new species in person for the first time was always eye-opening; he hadn't imagined they would all be so tall.

Automatically Spock glanced to his left and was satisfied that the Captain and first officer had beamed down safely. Spock remained towards the back of the group and watched Captain Pike step forwards to greet the Thennollians, observing the Captain perform the native greeting perfectly.

It had taken a great number of tries in the conference room to master the complex greeting. At one point Spock had been sure that the pressure was getting too much for Pike, but as always the Captain pulled through the difficulties, absorbed all the details he could about the culture and customs and strode out to greet the Thennollians with his head held high. He looked completely oblivious, or he was simply handling, the weight of command pressing down on his shoulders; the weight of the federation and all it represented.

Spock did not envy the Captain's position; he respected the way Pike handled it all, and the outward ease he projected. He walked and talked like nothing could break through his easy smile, or land a blow too great to break his stride and his confidence. Captain Christopher Pike in his element was truly a sight to behold; to put it plainly he was awe inspiring.

Spock snapped his attention back to the present as the greetings between the Captain and the entourage wrapped up, Chris introduced Number One next and then finally it was Spock's turn. Spock reached out a hand to greet the dignitaries, and almost recoiled at the emotions that pressed into his mind. He just about managed to keep his expression stoic until the contact was cut off; thankfully to the rest of the room it was like nothing had happened.

Spock watched the dignitary carefully for any outward signs of what he had just felt but found none, he knew his own mind well enough to know that he hadn't imagined the fear and panic in the Thennollian's own mind, so why was it being hidden away? _Curious._

"Please follow us." The leader of the entourage had a deep booming voice which echoed round the corridors.

The Thennollians led the way and motioned for the Captain to join him at the front of the pack. Spock deliberately hung back which didn't go unnoticed by Commander Una who shot him a curious expression, before falling into deep conversation with one of the entourage when he caught her attention.

Spock kept his eyes peeled as the group moved along the palace corridors, taking in the elegant ornate architecture as they walked. The Thennollian who had greeted him earlier was chatting amicably away to Commander Una, other than an aura of nervousness there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Now that the thought had struck him he noticed that all the Thennollians had an aura of anxiety surrounding them.

He was so wrapped up in studying their entourage that he almost didn't notice the people lining the edges of the corridors. They had been standing so still he had first mistaken them for statues, but now he stared he could see their cloaks moving slightly and their chest's rise and fall. The Thennollian to his left must have noticed his scrutiny as he smiled nervously and gestured at the cloaked people.

"Don't worry about them Lieutenant." Spock noticed that the Captain and first officer's interest had been peaked by the mysterious figures too. "They are the gatekeepers. They have taken a vow of silence and it is their solemn duty to guard our sacred halls."

Spock's mind raced through all the information he had read in the briefing, but nothing sprang out that matched this new fact. Perhaps the federation's information was simply outdated.

"Fascinating." He eventually replied. He noticed the Captain and Number One had already returned to conversing with their respective Thennollians, clearly not sensing what Spock did from the cloaked gatekeepers.

Spock had to admit he didn't like the fact that their faces were completely shrouded in darkness; he couldn't make out any features at all from any of them. The other thing he did not like was the nauseating feeling building in his gut, he felt anxious and had a bad feeling about the gatekeepers; it was an unfamiliar and unwelcome feeling. Spock was always so sure about things, basing his deductions and conclusions on facts and logic; he relied on data to back up theories not feelings. But now all he had was mystery, questions and a growing discernment that something was amiss here.

Enterprise had performed scans as soon as she had entered orbit, and had found nothing out of place and certainly nothing that would cause concern within the palace. Thennollian life signs and nothing else. So why did Spock keep veering towards suspicion? He rarely followed just his instincts but he would be a fool to disregard them entirely, with some species his telepathic abilities granted him a unique insight that others did not have.

Spock was so busy studying the never ending line of gatekeepers that he completely missed Captain Pike's concerned looks.

"You go ahead Number One, I just need to update Lieutenant Spock on something." The Captain threw the reception committee an easy smile and waited until the dignitaries were out of earshot before walking closer to Spock.

Spock had been taken aback by his Captain's words, he mentally scolded himself for being so lost in introspection. He had hadn't even realised they had approached a grand hall of sorts, which Number One had just followed the entourage into. Spock rarely let his guard down like that or let his concerns get the better of him, Pike must have noticed.

"Something troubling you Spock?" Pike asked uneasily, glancing around their surroundings all of a sudden on edge because of Spock's reaction.

Most other Captains would have berated an officer for drifting off like he had but Pike was not most Captains. He was very in tune with his crew and could tell when someone was knocked off by something and usually what by, it was admirable.

Spock felt a wave of paranoia threaten to drown him and he felt the urge to make sure there were no gatekeepers nearby. Pike frowned lightly at the action but waited patiently. Eventually Spock replied, frustrated with himself that he didn't have more information or more crucially any facts.

"I am unsure Captain, but something_ feels_ wrong here." He hated even using that word, and he could see by the Captain's raised eyebrow that Pike was surprised that his officer had even uttered the word, not to mention him using it to explain his unease.

Spock attempted to clarify. "When I greeted one of the Thennollians I felt terrible fear and panic in his mind. And there's something about the gatekeepers..." he trailed off knowing anything else he mentioned would purely be speculation.

Pike's frown deepened and he studied the Thennollians in the hall out of the corner of his eye. The Captain made sure his and Spock's expressions and conversations were out of the Thennollians line of vision; thankfully Number One was doing a stand up job of keeping them all occupied.

"They don't look scared to me." Pike eventually mused before turning back to Spock. "Are you sure he wasn't just nervous?"

That was the question Spock had been asking himself ever since the telepathic link had occurred, it was also one he didn't know the answer too, not certainly in any case. Telepathy wasn't an exact science and Spock wasn't an expert by any means, not like his father… Perhaps the Captain was right, the Thennollians did appear to be acting normally on the surface.

"Perhaps Captain." He allowed, clearly he wasn't convincing either of them as the Captain scoffed and smirked.

"Send any concerns you have to Yeoman Colt, we'll keep them updated from this end then if either of us spot any further unusual incidents we can act on the information then." Pike decided, indicating to Spock's tricorder. It was clear from his look that he wanted him to send messages discretely via text transmission.

"This partnership is pretty important to the federation Spock so for the moment we can just remain vigilant. Are we good?" Pike asked, shooting a wave over his shoulder to the group In the hall, indicating they were nearly done.

Spock released the majority of his concerns and loosened up a little, ready to slip into the role of unconcerned federation representative. The Captain was right; they had a mission to complete and vague feelings couldn't get in the way of that.

"Yes Captain." He nodded sharply.

Pike smiled happily then lead the way into the grand hall, apologising for the delay to the dignitaries and cracking a joke with ease. The Captain really was good at this, he could slip into almost any situation and look like he belonged, the charisma and likability factor shining almost as brightly as his command gold uniform.

Spock followed his Captain in and started conversations of his own. He caught Commander Una's gaze and read her unspoken question there, was everything alright? He nodded imperceptibly towards her which got the message through, at least for now things were okay.

Spock felt substantially better knowing that he had at least voiced his concerns, he just hoped for all their sakes that his worries were unfounded. He hoped that he was wrong and this would all go as smoothly as the Captain thought it would; his final thought before jumping into the event: When did he start relying on hope?

* * *

Chris placed his knife and fork either side of his dinner plate, chewing thoughtfully on a food item that was apparently called Groak. It was a fruit native to Thennoll and reminded Pike of a mix between a passion fruit and an orange. Sweet but sour, soft and fleshy, and yet somehow chewy. The result was intriguing and like nothing he'd eaten before. As native foods went it was definitely one of the more pleasant things he had sampled.

The Captain glanced across the table to Number One and was happy to see she was engaging animatedly with a number of the ambassadors, sharing stories and putting everyone around her at ease. She was a natural when it came to diplomacy and reading people's moods; it was why Chris always chose her for these kinds of assignments.

His gaze moved to Spock who was sitting on his right at the end of the table; the young officer still looked somewhat distracted. On the surface Spock was listening intently to his neighbour and was even nodding along to the conversation, but the Captain could see the way Spock's attention flitted between the conversation, the data pad and the gatekeepers.

Over the course of the meal Chris had noticed Spock discretely making use of his tricorder, no doubt to scan the surroundings for any concrete signs of his worries, and also to do as Pike suggested to communicate with security on Enterprise.

He was intrigued to see what new information Spock had learned and what the security team aboard Enterprise could add to the picture, but sadly that would have to wait. They still had a dinner to finish and a ceremony to complete before the day was out. After that the three of them would return to the ship overnight, and return again in the morning to get started on the specifics of negotiation.

Chris already had a tonne of questions to ask Spock when they got back, he had to admit his own unease had grown ever since he'd pulled Spock aside and noticed it in Number One too. Something had them all on edge, and even though everything appeared normal he would not ignore their well-honed instincts.

His attention snapped back to the present when the doors to the dining hall opened and several waiting staff walked in carrying trays of goblets. Chris was curious as to the significance of these glasses and why the lead representative of the Thennollian people, Jakka, stopped his conversation when he noticed the interruption.

"Ah the traditional drink of Thennoll." Jakka sounded a little nervous which was odd. "Please serve our guests first."

Chris smiled graciously and accepted a goblet from the serving waiter, casting a glance into the container to see what mysterious drink defined the traditional drink of Thennoll. He hadn't seen anything about this in their research, but then again they hadn't had a lot of information about Thennoll in the first place.

The liquid had a red tinge to it and had the consistency of wine; Chris couldn't sense any strong aroma from the drink so his curiosity wasn't abated in the slightest. He hoped to hell it didn't taste too bad, keeping down drinks and foods sacred to a planet's people was always difficult and took several years to tolerate. The last thing any federation representative wanted to do was offend anyone especially in delicate negotiations.

Once the drinks were all handed out Jakka got nervously to his feet, strangely appearing a little shy and not meeting any of the federation representative's gaze. He gestured for everyone to hold their drinks up high, demonstrating the act himself.

"I would like to invite our new friends from the federation to join us in our sacred tradition." He finally looked over at the end of the table which seated Pike, Number One and Spock, anxiously locking eyes with the Captain before averting his gaze.

Jakka's behaviour was becoming more curious by the minute, Chris mused that perhaps the pressures of the evening were getting to him. Eventually Jakka managed a strained smile and tipped his drink towards the Captain. "To our new relationship with the federation."

Perhaps Jakka's anxiety was from the upcoming negotiations; the big step forward his people were about to make and all the burdens that came with that. Pike shoved his concerns aside, knowing he would have a chance to dissect the day later.

He smiled amicably in return and began lifted his glass high to acknowledge the toast. "To new friends." He responded and started to bring the goblet to his lips, following Jakka's movements.

The glass was just shy of his face when Spock suddenly cried out in alarm. "Captain stop!"

Pike almost spilt the drink all over himself. Spock had startled him at the worst possible moment; he better have a good explanation for this. He glared at Spock heavily and was about to question what the hell his Science officer was thinking, when he noticed Spock had his tricorder out in the open and it was near his own glass.

"There is a sedative in the drink Captain." Spock explained quickly, shooting suspicious glances to the Thennollians and the gatekeepers. "If we were to consume this the three of us would be rendered unconscious within the hour."

Pike almost dropped the goblet again, instead he gripped the glass firmly and eyed the contents in a new light. Chris slowly placed the glass back on the table, followed closely by Number One.

The room had fallen completely silent after Spock's outburst. Chris wanted to give the Thennollians the benefit of the doubt, maybe they weren't affected by such an ingredient and hadn't realised the chemical would have sedative effects on humans? Pike knew deep-down that the theory was wishful thinking. He could tell by the guilty wide-eyed look on the Thennollians faces that this was no accident, the question was why.

Chris tried to keep his temper in check for the sake of diplomacy, but this really wasn't on. What the hell were they going to do with them once they had fallen unconscious?

"Why?" He asked Jakka who hadn't had the nerve to meet his eye since, the leader had sank back down in his chair looking defeated and scared. Jakka's face had turned ashen and he was staring dead ahead but not seeing anything. The signs were just another strange behaviour the Thennollians had shown this evening.

Jakka suddenly glanced up and Chris was taken aback when he saw Jakka's eyes, he looked broken and petrified, and was shaking his head sadly. "I'm so sorry Captain."

_Right that settled it._

Chris sensed danger here and he was ill-equipped to deal with being outnumbered like this amongst so many unfriendly people who wished them harm.

"Spock contact the Enter-"

"Captain watch out!" Una cried out a warning.

Chris felt a presence approach from behind, coming fast towards his right shoulder. Knowing he was already at a disadvantage sitting down and facing the wrong way, Pike decided to use his unknown attacker's momentum against him. Pike felt the mysterious persons hand reach out for his right shoulder. Chris moved with the touch and twisted to grab hold of his attacker's arm, pulling the figure over his shoulder and gritted his teeth against the surprising weight of his opponent.

The mystery attacker was sent crashing into the table, face up. Chris clocked the outfit and realised it was one of the gatekeepers who had attacked him from behind. When the man hit the table Chris disentangled himself from the attacker. The gatekeepers hood fell loose and dropped back to reveal a very surprising face. Pike froze when he realised he was staring into the face of a Klingon?

His head snapped up when he heard a commotion across the table and to the right. He saw dozens of so-called gatekeepers rushing forwards to engage Number One and Spock; some of their hoods dropping to reveal yet more Klingons and not ancient Thennollians.

How the hell had it gone this wrong so quickly?

Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder and he found himself being thrown backwards with force, Chris hit the wall behind him and almost lost his footing entirely. He stumbled away and brought up his hands to defend himself from the latest attacker, recognising the growl and bared teeth of a Klingon underneath the hood.

The Klingon didn't waste any time, he advanced on Pike with reckless abandon, slapping aside the Captain's jabs and slashes like he was swatting away flies. Pike let a fist slip past his defence and his head snapped to the side, he tasted blood and felt his nose crumple beneath the Klingons heavy fist.

Before he could recover properly two fists crashed into his chest in quick succession, one either side, buckling his ribs and winding him nastily at the same time. Chris staggered back against the wall and used it to propel himself forwards, landing a solid punch to the Klingon's jaw which made the big guy stumble. Pike suddenly became aware that the Klingon he had slammed onto the table was rejoining the fight, he knew he had little chance of winning anything if he got cornered by the two of them.

He made a quick decision and quickly kicked out a foot, crashing into the first Klingon's mid section with enough force to send him stumbling back to crash to the floor. Pike quickly turned on the advancing Klingon and moved forward to meet the attack; he grappled with his newest opponent and grabbed onto the Klingon's arms trying to push him back onto the table. The Klingon grabbed a hold of his shoulders and they both pushed against one another, kicking out legs to try and trip the other up.

The Klingon growled in the Captain's face and then in a sudden outburst of unbounded anger he head-butted Pike. Chris reeled and felt his nose crumple nastily under the assault, he felt blood spurt out and coat his face. Pike felt dizzy and almost lost his grip on the Klingon, he did end up losing ground and found himself being pressed back towards the wall. When he realised where they were heading he started to panic and struggle against the hold wildly; if he was cornered he wouldn't be of any use to anyone.

Chris felt a sudden surge of anger and used it to fuel his strength. He blinked away the blood and concussed feeling; he released one hand on the Klingon and pounded into his attackers side as hard as he could, aiming for the Klingon's weaknesses. After the third jab the Klingon howled in misery and let go of the Captain. The Klingon staggered back into the table and glanced up at his quarry, looking absolutely furious and visibly shaking with rage.

Pike had all of 2 seconds to take a breather. He glanced around the room wildly and his heart fell as he saw that it was almost completely swamped with Klingons; some of them armed. The Thennollians were all cowering near or under the table, trembling with fear and trying to keep well away from the violence that was breaking out throughout the room.

He saw that Number One was struggling under the attack of two Klingons, and Spock was in the process of being wrestled to the ground. Chris didn't see a way out of this chaos by fighting; the last desperate thing that came to mind was reaching for his communicator. He knew deep down the chance of getting a message off was slim but he had to try; he was the only one left standing.

Pike barely got the chance to even touch the device before the Klingon was charging towards him like a steam train, barreling into him bodily whilst yelling a Klingon battle cry. Chris tried to move his hands to defend against the assault but how could he defend against a bull charging into him?

All the air left his chest immediately and his brain went into shock as the Klingon lifted him up and carried him the rest of the way to the wall. He slammed back against the surface with tremendous force, gasping in agony when he felt his ribs buckle and strain under the immense pressure.

Chris almost blacked out when his head smashed backwards, and sickeningly he was pretty sure he felt his brain smash against his skull. The nasty bang caused an immediate nauseous effect and had him seeing stars for a few seconds.

He belatedly realised that the Klingon was no longer near him, in fact he had backed away so now Pike had nothing holding him up. He slid down the wall miserably and clutched his chest groaning and trying to catch his breath; he felt like he would never breathe properly again. Pike nearly tilted to the side, and almost gave into the encroaching darkness when he remembered his people were in danger.

"Enough!" A loud voice boomed throughout the space followed by the sound of a Klingon blaster being discharged.

* * *

**A/N - I'm so glad to have finally started writing this story out properly, it's all been planned out and will be longer than any other Discovery I've done so far. Next chapter should be up next week some time :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of the blaster going off snapped Pike's attention back to the present crisis and away from the encroaching darkness of unconsciousness. He bit back a groan, put aside the throbbing in his chest and dragged his gaze upwards to see just how much shit he, Spock and Una were in. The answer, unsurprisingly, was _a lot._

He was surrounded by three Klingons, two of which were glaring daggers at him and he could see from the blood on their faces that they were the two he had been brawling with. Chris leaned forward and groaned when the action caused a spike of pain to strike his chest, he coughed and felt sick when he tasted blood creeping up his throat; that did not bode well for his internal injuries. He pushed his own concerns aside in favour of checking on Number One and Spock.

Pike glanced over to where he had last seen Una and his heart fell when he saw she was being held securely between two Klingons. Spock was in a similarly lousy situation; he was being securely pinned down by another group of Klingons and he had a Klingon disruptor aimed right at him. Chris realised that must have been where the shot had come from; judging by the number of unconscious bodies surrounding Spock the kid hadn't given up easily.

"Pick him up."

Chris' attention was abruptly pulled back to his own problems when he noticed two of the burly Klingons stamping towards him, and he also noticed that one of them held a pair of restraints in his clenched fists. Pike resisted the urge to struggle when they both reached down and took a strong hold of his arms; they spun him on the spot and roughly slammed him back up against the wall face first.

The Captain moaned as his face took another pasting and his body trembled under the harsh treatment; he was pretty sure one or two of his ribs was at least broken if not severely bruised.

"Hands!" One of the Klingons demanded accompanying the growl by shaking his shoulder.

Chris obeyed albeit a little sluggishly, which dismally meant he received another nasty jab to his lower back. He grunted and sagged against the wall knowing full well that if the Klingons didn't have their hands on him he would be slumping down to the floor. Pike panted heavily and focussed on simply breathing, _in and out,_ through the new-found vehement pain and prayed it would just go away.

Pike didn't fancy being a punching bag any longer so he put his hands at the small of his back as quickly as he could manage; he hissed when cold metal bit into his skin and snapped shut tightly, capturing his wrists and holding them firmly in place. He felt a sharp tug at his side and watched with dismay when his communicator was stolen away from him; his only line of communication with the outside world and more importantly the Enterprise cruelly taken.

Chris didn't get much of a chance to adjust to the change in situation. One of the Klingons grabbed his arm and spun him round. His captor didn't wait for him to recover from the sudden movement he simply pushed onwards, and marched him towards the end of the hall where Number One and Spock were already waiting; they were also restrained and looking a little worse for wear.

He rode through a wave of dizziness as he was spun round again and placed in line with his officers, in between Spock and Una. All of them grunted when the Klingons kicked the back of their legs, which sent all of them crashing to the floor painfully landing on their knees. Pike gritted his teeth and shook off the restraining grip on his shoulder, the last thing he wanted was more contact with his attacker. The fact that the attackers were Klingons was only just starting to compute; the ramifications of this attack were frankly unthinkable for the Federation. No-one wanted another war.

Chris felt the Klingon's hand leave his shoulder and heard him back off so he took the chance to glance over his shoulder. Pike grimly noticed that the attackers were all now armed; as if their situation hadn't been dire enough already. One of the Klingons stepped forward aggressively and prodded his shoulder with the blaster. "Face forward." He growled menacingly.

Pike held his tongue _just_ and faced forward; he decided to take in the overall situation to help take his mind off of his own throbbing injuries. The room was a complete state: the table and floor were covered with the remains of their meal and splattered with blood, everything had been knocked over, and several chairs had been destroyed.

There were more than a dozen Klingons in the hall, and more continued to spill into the room by the minute. The newcomers weren't disguised as the gatekeepers; they were wearing usual Klingon garb. Every single one of them was armed and looked furious, which was odd considering they'd just won this fight. The Enterprise crew were the ones who had the right to be angry, they had been tricked and attacked without provocation. They were bruised and beaten; betrayed and pissed off.

Pike sought out the Thennollians and saw them all huddled along the side, also being covered by Klingon weapons. Now the nervousness made sense; Spock's insights made sense, and so did Jakka's apology. They were hostages of the Klingons too; they had been _forced_ into this, and Pike had ignored all the signs.

With the room analysed Chris turned his attention to his officers. Number One and Spock both had blood on their faces and held themselves like they were in pain and at least a little beat up. Spock especially looked dazed, most probably caused by the nasty green gash on his forehead.

"Are you both alright?" He whispered carefully, not wanting to earn the Klingons ire again.

Number One glanced him up and down and her famous half-smile appeared. "No worse off than you Sir."

Chris snorted then grimaced as the sudden action jolted his ribs painfully. _Note to self: Do not laugh with cracked ribs_, not that he thought he _should_ be laughing in a situation like this anyway. Damn Una for cracking jokes in the middle of a hostage situation, it was so… well it was exactly what his XO was like actually.

Pike suddenly realised that Spock had still remained silent, he glanced to his right and took in his officer more carefully. Spock was swaying slightly and blinking heavily, okay he was _very_ dazed. That head wound was clearly a lot nastier than he had first estimated.

"Spock?" He muttered louder.

It did the trick. Spock snapped to his voice and appeared to try and shake off his disorientating effects. He eventually met his Captain's concerned stare.

"I am alright Captain."

Spock's words were more slurred than usual and Chris didn't miss the way that Spock swayed on the spot, like his inner balance was completely out of whack. He was far from alright. Pike frowned heavily and was about to tell his officer just what he thought of his self-assessment when the grand doors swung open with a bang, causing them all to jump to the noise and sudden intrusion.

At the far end of the room a formation of Klingons barged through the doors and moved into the space like a raging storm; their uniforms billowed behind them as they strode in. At the front of the pack was a Klingon fully kitted out for war, he was wielding a vicious looking Bat'leth and had a disruptor strapped to his side; he bore a golden sash and a symbol Pike didn't recognise. He was flanked on either side by Klingon foot soldiers who looked just as fierce and who were also armed to the teeth. Chris noticed how the rest of the room reacted when the Klingon strode past them; there was a new sense of unease and fear settling in the room telling Pike everything he needed to know about the newcomer. He was in charge here, he was their leader.

The leader scanned the room with a distasteful expression, his lip was curled upwards in a snarl and he glared at the three kneeling Starfleet officers. The Klingon tore his hatred to another and stopped his ascent up the room in front of Jakka.

"You had one task." He hissed furiously, causing Jakka to cower away from the rage. The Klingon leader's hand shot out and grabbed the Thennollian's jaw. "Why did you fail me?"

Jakka gulped and stuttered; he looked absolutely petrified. "We tried, we did but they found out something was in the drink…"

The Klingon suddenly shoved Jakka back to the floor and the Thennollian landed on his back looking rather like a turtle stuck on its back. "How did that happen?!"

Jakka stuttered badly and cowered on the floor, holding his hands up and falling over his own words. The Klingon Commander withdrew his disruptor and stormed towards the defenceless Thennollian. Chris felt the sudden urge to get between the helpless Thennollian and his attacker, funnily enough Spock was a step ahead of him, as usual.

"I detected the sedative in the drinks with my equipment." Spock stated boldly, loud enough to break through the Commander's haze.

The Klingon stopped his advance and changed targets in an instant, and he turned his furious glare onto Spock. He forgot about Jakka entirely and stormed towards the kneeling Starfleet officers. Pike tensed and was about to try and get to his feet, to put himself between Spock and the bull that was raging towards him. His actions must have been telegraphed because a hand suddenly appeared from behind to grip his shoulder, which annoyingly kept him firmly in place.

The Klingon Commander stopped just shy of Spock and held out his disrupter to point at Spock's head. "And why would you scan the drinks?"

Pike gulped nervously; he hoped Spock wasn't too dazed to divert the attention away from the Thennollian's mistakes. The kid didn't disappoint, it turned out that even with a massive crack in his head he still had a lightening-fast mind.

"Your gatekeepers were..." Spock glanced around at the Klingons that were still partly disguised. "...suspicious."

_Nice one Spock, blame the Klingons._

Predictably the response was not taken well but Spock had succeeded in his goal; the anger and blame was off the Thennollians. Sadly that meant it only had one place to go.

The Klingon gripped Spock's uniform tightly with one hand and snarled, finger tightening on the trigger. "Then _you_ will pay for interfering with my plans."

Chris ripped his shoulder free from the restraining hand and almost tipped over. He leaned forwards as far as he could into Spock's space and yelled at the Klingon Commander. "No! I'm his commanding officer, I take responsibility for my officer's actions." He would not just sit by silently and let Spock be cut down in cold-blood.

Strangely the Klingon Commander's anger faded away and the fury turned into something else, Pike would almost say he was smiling. The Commander suddenly grinned, let go of Spock and let the disruptor drop down to his side. He turned to Pike and barked out a laugh. Chris frowned, that didn't sound sarcastic so what the hell was going on? What was so funny?

The Klingon Commander walked in front of Pike, completely forgetting Spock and the previous argument. He tilted his head to the side and appraised his prisoner more closely, running a scrutinising gaze up and down Pike from head to toe. Chris felt like he was being eyed up for dinner; he felt pretty uncomfortable and all of a sudden self conscious.

"Captain Pike. You're everything I imagined."

Well that wasn't creepy as hell, the Klingon knew him by name and by reputation. Pike didn't like being at a disadvantage. He studied the Klingon more closely but saw no identifying marks, and nothing which stuck out as familiar. He didn't know him.

"You have me at a disadvantage…" He let the end of the sentence hang in the air, wanting to learn his tormentor's name at the very least. Then he could find out what the hell all this was about and why he and his officers had been assaulted and detained.

The Klingon Commander smirked then straightened, holding his hands out to the side theatrically. "I am Commander K'tach son of Rrark."

Pike glared at K'tach heatedly. Seeing the Klingon taking this situation so lightly, and smirking no less… Pike's temper flared, what right did these Klingons have for luring them here and attacking them?

"Commander K'tach. You have assaulted representatives of the federation. This is a clear violation of the treaty-"

K'tach spat on the floor and stamped his foot. "I spit on the treaty!"

Pike leaned away from the enraged performance, watching the man's weapon carefully and where he was pointing it. He took a deep breath, quelled his rising exasperation and tried again. "Chancellor L'Rell and the Klingon Council signed a treaty with the federation."

K'tach's gaze narrowed dangerously and he stepped forward into the Captain's space, dropping to crouch at his captive's eye level. "_That_ traitor is not my Chancellor, the Klingon Council is being ruled by cowering old women. _We,_" He indicated to his men with arms wide open, "do not answer to those embarrassments that call themselves Klingons. We will never bow to the Federation." He promised pointedly. The Klingon Commander stared Pike, Spock and Una up and down with visible disgust, then he took a breath and got to his feet.

Well, that soon answered that question. Chris had been concerned that another war was breaking out before him. No. Instead he just had a crazed Klingon rebellion to deal with. _Perfect._

K'tach shook off the loss of control and visibly schooled his emotional outburst. When he turned around again he turned his attention to Spock and Number One, giving them both a cursory glance. "It was good of you to bring senior officers Captain." K'tach teased, waving the disruptor between the two in a clear threat.

Chris ignored the goad and gritted his teeth, wanting the stupid dramatics over and resigning himself to the fact that for now their fates were in the rebel's hands. "What do you want?"

K'tach studied him for a beat then turned to one of his men. "Where's his communicator?"

One of the Klingon officers that was to blame for Pike's broken ribs, and who had been responsible for restraining him stepped forward to hand over the device. The Klingon Commander took the device and then stared from it to the Captain.

"I want you to contact your ship. Due to our timetable being _accelerated…_" he glared sideways at Spock, "…we can't have you missing your scheduled call."

Pike blinked, how had they known about that?

K'tach smirked, clocking the Captain's expression. "Yes we know a lot." He fingered his disruptor absently. "You will tell them that negotiations are continuing into the evening, that you and your officers will remain as guests overnight and that you will contact them again in the morning. Order them to remain in orbit."

Pike took the overload of information in and sighed inwardly. If he did this he would have brought the Klingons 12 hours or more to do with them as they please, probably torture or something equally unpleasant. If he didn't do this then… Well he would soon find out.

"What if I refuse." He held K'tach's gaze steadily and kept his expression stoic and blank; Pike wasn't willing to show fear to his captor or offer up any cracks that their captors would jump on.

K'tach narrowed his eyes and a hard smile spread across his face. His nostrils flared and like a horse being released from the starting gate, he shot towards Pike and grabbed his captive's jaw in a crushing grip. The blaster was predictably pressed into Chris' cheek. Pike tensed and narrowed his eyes but other than that didn't react; he managed to hold the Commander's murderous stare.

The room fell silent as the two adversaries stared off. They studied one another in a vacuum, K'tach seemingly searching for something, and for each second he didn't find it his control slipped. As Pike watched the fury building within K'tach he thought that the Klingon would lose his temper entirely and pull the trigger.

Eventually K'tach answered. "I have hundreds of Thennollians in cells downstairs. If you don't do what I say I will bring each one of them up, force them to their knees in front of you and cut out their hearts. I will do this to every single one of them."

K'tach's face twitched with anger, a desire there that made Chris believe that the Klingon wanted nothing more than to do what he was describing now. He was a bloodthirsty maniac, but he wasn't done.

The Klingon tightened his grip on the Captain's jaw, digging his fingers in enough to draw blood. On the surface Pike didn't react to any of it, the iron-clad clench on his jaw, the blood dripping down his face, the images of the Klingon's threat running through his mind…

Underneath the surface however was a different story. K'tach's words awoke a fury in him he hadn't felt in a very long time, an explosion of negative feelings were bubbling inside that he hadn't experienced since Talos… In the moment he felt hateful enough to tear down his tormenter, to get his hands around the Klingon's neck and never let go.

"If that isn't enough then I'll start on your crew. I will tear them apart limb by limb, I will cut them to pieces before your eyes and only then will I slit their throats at your feet."

After hearing the barbaric threats against Spock and Una, his stoic reaction splintered into a million pieces. Chris clenched his fists and strained against the annoying restraints, he felt his heart begin to race and his breathing deepen; coming out in short angry bursts as his emotions threatened to burst. Pike felt the restraining hand on his shoulder tighten and realised he was automatically leaning forward, his growing rage consuming him. He barely had the resolve left necessary to hold his tongue, he had never been so furious in all his life. He had never wanted to do to K'tach what he wanted to do to anyone before in his life. It actually _scared_ him what he was capable of doing in this moment.

K'tach watched his face carefully, the Klingon studied the many reactions and smirked when he saw how affected the Captain was by his threats. Not only could he plainly see how effected Pike was but he now knew his weaknesses; threatening the lives of others. Chris would do what the Commander wanted against such threats, how could he not?

"Do you understand Captain?" The Commander accompanied the sneering question by shaking Pike's jaw nastily.

Chris clenched his jaw and gulped, he dropped his gaze down submissively and gave in, letting the hand on his shoulder push him down and backwards to his original position.

"Yes." He muttered, although it took everything in him not to shout what was truly on his mind. Others would get hurt and punished for that though, K'tach had made that crystal clear.

K'tach smiled victoriously and removed his grip. He abruptly got to his feet and removed his weapon from Pike's cheek, Chris didn't miss the fact that K'tach was standing more confidently and this victory had only nurtured his arrogance. The Klingon Commander wiped the Captain's blood on his uniform then motioned to all the guards in the room.

Pike's gaze snapped up to the sound and his heart fell as he saw that every single Klingon had their weapon pointed at the head of a hostage, even Spock and Number One had disruptors pressed against their heads and Pike bristled when he felt a barrel touch his own neck.

K'tach held the communicator out and flipped it open. "Do anything stupid and I promise you will live to regret it." He threatened before opening the channel.

The room was so quiet that Pike could hear his raging heart rate beating beneath his chest; he could hear the whimpers from the far side of the room and he could hear the whine from so many disruptors. He closed his eyes, and breathed out as much anger and pain as he could manage, schooling his features and preparing to make everything sound normal.

K'tach held the communicator closer to his face and stared at him relentlessly, watching his captive's face for any sign of treachery. Pike ignored the watchful stare; cleared his throat and jumped in, hoping his performance would satisfy K'tach.

"Pike to Enterprise."

The entire room waited in tense silence before Lieutenant Amin's voice filtered through the device; she currently had command of the bridge and even though she didn't know it she was now effectively in command of the Enterprise. This exact situation was why it was a bad idea to have a Captain and first officer away, not to mention another senior bridge crew member. Then again this was supposed to be a diplomatic assignment, nothing more and certainly not life-threatening.

"Enterprise here, Captain."

"Lieutenant the negotiations are drawing on a little longer than expected. We have been invited to stay overnight as guests and we have accepted, so don't expect us back aboard the ship tonight."

Pike half hoped that the Lieutenant would notice something amiss, but really how could she? She didn't know that the entire away team were being held at gunpoint by Klingons and nor would he expect her to, with the amount of lives at stake Pike daren't risk a coded message. So understandably Amin continued like the request was completely normal and she replied without hesitation.

"Understood, Captain, when would a good time be for a check-in?"

"I'll update you in the morning." He carefully replied, being purposefully vague. He wanted to give as many clues to the Enterprise that something was off here without tipping the Klingons off; he only hoped that Spock's security concerns had reached the ship.

"Is there anything you'd like us to do in the mean time, Sir?"

K'tach narrowed his gaze dangerously, and Chris remembered what he was supposed to say. "Remain in orbit and have the team continue draw up the diplomatic papers. I'll review them when we beam back."

"On it, Captain."

_And please notice this isn't right, protocols aren't being followed, I'm meant to agree a check in time with you, I have a Klingon disruptor against my head!_

He of course kept all those thoughts private and ended the conversation when K'tach started fidgeting and crossed his arms tightly, clearly losing what little patience a Klingon had. "I've got to go Lieutenant. Pike out."

"Acknowledged." Was the final reply and then the connection cut off, K'tach snapped shut the communicator and remained very still.

Pike met and held the Klingon Commander's scrutinising stare. If the man was looking for weakness he wouldn't find it here; the only thing Klingons respected was strength so Pike was damned if he'd look away first. Eventually K'tach smiled which soon morphed into a laugh, he motioned for the Klingons in the room to lower their weapons and the tension in the room dropped a few notches.

"Very good, Captain." His eyes were shining with humour. He dropped the communicator on the table and put it out of mind; forgetting about it now he had brought himself until morning at the very least. "Now your ship is dealt with, we can all spend some quality time together."

Pike ignored the goad, Number One didn't. "What do you want with us?" She spat, interrupting K'tach's moment.

Chris stiffened and almost forgot to take a breath; he fought the urge to shift in place and he clenched and unclenched his fists anxiously. The Captain's worried gaze darted between Una and K'tach as he waited for the Klingon Commander to lash out. It seemed there were still some small mercies, K'tach studied Number One for some time before letting the matter go without retribution, his good mood clearly had leeway. "All in good time."

Pike heard his First Officer tut and shot her a look, shaking his head imperceptibly. _Don't Una._ The last thing they wanted was to piss K'tach off more than necessary, quite frankly he was surprised K'tach had let the interruption go unchecked. Una understood his meaning, years spent serving together made verbal communication unnecessary half the time; she sighed and let her anger out, visibly relaxing her posture and breathing out heavily.

The Klingon Commander ignored the Starfleet officers and marched over to the Thennollian delegation; he came to a stop at Jakka's feet. The entire room remembered how angry the Klingon Command had been towards Jakka earlier. Chris only hoped K'tach wouldn't take it out on their former host; they were just innocent pawns being used in this miserable game.

"You have failed me. Do it again and I'll take your people's miserable lives." K'tach spat and turned away to address the guards; he didn't spare the creatures at his feet a second glance. "Take them back to the cells."

"I thought Klingons didn't take hostages." Spock suddenly spoke up, making Pike groan inwardly. First Una and now Spock. Why couldn't they just keep their mouths shut? He didn't want them drawing attention unnecessarily to themselves, K'tach was interested in him at the moment meaning hopefully he would leave Spock and Una alone, as long as they didn't piss him off that was.

K'tach smiled as if Spock had told a funny joke. He inclined his head to the side and corrected the Science Officer. "You are prisoners of war."

The Captain wanted the attention off his officers and to be honest his bitter comment would have slipped out anyway; it was what he'd been thinking since this had all started. "We're not at war anymore."

K'tach barked out a genuine laugh and held his chest as his whole body shook with mirth. "Have you not been listening Captain?" He spread his arms wide to encompass all three of his kneeling captives. "You are all apart of my war."

The Commander nodded his head to the Klingon guards standing behind them, and Pike's heart fell as he sensed something being raised behind his head. He glanced backwards just in time to see the barrel of a weapon heading towards his face at an alarming rate; it was just as he'd feared the Klingon Commander had indicated for all three of them to be knocked out.

Pike's head snapped forward with the vicious impact and he fell flat on his face, all of his limbs suddenly felt heavy and unwieldy. As soon as his head crashed into the floor, the horrendous ringing from before returned and the world suddenly started shaking madly beneath his non-responsive body. His vision was first to go; Chris fought against the haziness but he found his eyelids drooping against his will.

He'd lost consciousness enough times to know that by this point the end result was inevitable. Even sounds were starting to fade away, he heard fellow grunts of pain from Spock and Una followed by their bodies crashing to the floor in a heap and then nothing.

Chris felt warm blood trickle down the back of his head and knew he was just moments away from slipping away, he didn't even care at this point. Everything hurt so much and he was so damn tired; he just wanted to get away from the searing pain and would do anything to turn it all off.

Just before Captain Pike slipped into oblivion he felt footsteps vibrate towards him and heard K'tach's parting words, which were so laughably predictable yet at the same time brain-numbingly petrifying.

"And my war has just begun."


	3. Chapter 3

Spock knew his own mind well, he had needed to ever since childhood what with growing up amongst telepaths and participating in mind melds with his father, because of that he soon deduced that the feelings and memories inside his mind were not his own. Instead of moving away from the alien thoughts he embraced them and analysed them clinically, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

He let all the feelings flow into his mind freely and started to break down what each one was telling him; _pain, hunger, terror, cold, thirst, worry, fear_. The overwhelming emotion he was feeling was fear, and the further he reached out the more he realised the thoughts didn't belong to just one mind; no these were the fears and worries of _hundreds_ of people.

Spock continued to let his mind open up and with it came not just emotions but tangible thoughts.

_Everything hurts…_

_It's so cold… and dark…_

_Water… please water…_

Spock tried to discern whether anything he was feeling or thinking was real, this felt like a dream but also it didn't. He was usually able to distinguish between the two but everything felt muddled and fuzzy. One particularly loud thought eradicated all else with the force of hundreds of voices screaming at once - _"Help us!"_

Spock jolted awake. He sat up and immediately regretted the action when it caused a blinding flash of pain to strike through his head; he brought his hand to the back of his head and winced when he prodded the wound. He fingered the injury carefully and felt a lump and a nasty gash, which was sticky and had clearly been seeping blood. Spock confirmed his suspicions when he brought his hand in front of his face and saw it was smattered with green blood.

_Well at least they took the restraints off._

Spock felt around his immediate surroundings and noticed the cold concrete floor beneath his hands, heard the fizzling of an energy barrier and deduced that he had been placed in some kind of cell or holding room. He came back around to the blood on his hand and frowned at it, trying to remember exactly how it had happened. The cell, the head wound and the flippant remark about the restraints suddenly brought it all flooding back.

All of the memories slammed back into place at once and Spock was now very aware that they were all in danger, and that a rebel band of Klingons had captured and now clearly imprisoned them. The revelation brought on a new concern for Captain Pike and Number One who had been in the Klingon's clutches, and had been as equally banged up as he felt.

Spock took a deep breath in an attempt to stave off the dizzying effects caused by the knock to the head. It took a few moments but eventually his vision grew clearer, and he felt confident that he could move his head without the consequence of seeing double everywhere. He used his newly regained sight to seek out his crew-mates; he soon found Una standing at the entrance to the cell and zeroed in on her and looked for any obvious injuries. From what he could see the first officer looked just as she did back in the hall, she was steady on her feet and appeared to be studying the force field for any sign of weaknesses.

Abruptly Una turned on the spot and her eyes widened when she noticed that he was conscious and relatively aware; she frowned at his seated position and gestured to his head. "Take it easy Spock, you took a nasty knock to the head."

That was frankly an understatement, he felt like several somethings were still cracking him over the head but he did not want his weaknesses spoken aloud for the enemy to hear.

"I am fine." He eventually replied steadily.

The incredulous look from Una told him she believed his lie even less than he did. Spock stamped down hard on the thought and brushed his own discomfort aside; he looked around the rest of the cell for Captain Pike and felt severely disappointed when he noticed it was just he and Una in the space.

He started to pick himself up off the floor and even though he was careful and kept his movements slow it was still painful; he winced when a slight twinge along his side twisted into fiery agony. Spock was almost certain that the Klingons had broken at least a couple of his ribs when they had captured him, and this pain and tenderness all but confirmed it. Spock straightened up slowly and held his ribs protectively, pushing aside the injury in the face of more pressing matters.

"The Captain?" Spock asked although he didn't suspect that Una would know anymore than he did.

Number One shook her head sadly. "He wasn't here when I woke up."

Spock closed his eyes and took in a deep breath; he swallowed down the terror that such a statement brought on. They both knew what that meant, if Pike wasn't here then he was in the hands of the Klingons. The Captain was likely being interrogated and probably tortured right now. The thought alone made Spock nauseous and he had to clench his hands into fists to stop them from trembling. It wasn't often that he actually had to stamp down on his emotions becoming physical, the level of rage he sometimes felt scared even him.

It was happening again now, just like it happened earlier when he saw the Klingons attacking Pike and Number One. Spock tried to push the feelings aside but he was finding it more and more difficult to do so, he hated seeing his colleagues, no his _friends_ in danger.

Spock had managed to remain distant and estranged for most of his adult life and it had served him well, no attachments and no emotions. But on Enterprise… The Captain had ensured that Spock became part of the family whether he wanted to or not, and against his better judgement Spock had opened up and somehow all these people had wormed their way into his heart. He blamed the Captain most of all, Pike had made it his mission to befriend Spock and somewhere along the way the human had succeeded.

So now Spock was left with these feelings that he did not want and that he struggled to control, because he cared for Pike he could no longer turn off or control his emotions like he once could. It was getting worse as time went along, as the Captain ended up in more life and death situations than statistically likely. Even now feeling like this and hating the fact that he was so compromised, Spock couldn't bring himself to truly regret letting Christopher Pike become his friend; he was a good man and he enjoyed his company. If these feelings were the price of that friendship then Spock would just have to figure out how to cope with them.

He buried the distracting thoughts and made his way over to join Commander Una. He studied their surroundings meticulously and noticed for the first time that there were two armed Klingons standing outside the cell; so even if they found a way through the force field they would still have opposition to deal with.

Spock watched the Klingons and flashed back to the moment in the hall when he had seen them rushing in carrying Bat'leths, and ready for battle. He had been concerned about the gatekeepers that was true, but he had never suspected anything like this to happen.

He began to replay the day over in his head, and thought about what he could have done differently to prevent this chaos. Spock knew he should have been more vigilant; he should have realised something was deeply wrong before a Klingon was literally running to incapacitate the Captain. Spock should have done more, he knew he should have.

Spock turned his back to the guards and scoured the rest of the cell, finding nothing out of the ordinary. "Have you identified any weaknesses?" He muttered discretely to Number One, not wanting to make the guards aware what they were talking about.

Una's face fell. "None. I can't see a way to get to the force field controls from here, if we had a laser scalpel perhaps..."

Spock was not surprised but that still didn't soften the news. They needed to escape this place; they needed to help the Thennollians and most of all they needed to rescue the Captain from what was probably a living hell.

Spock turned back to the force field and noticed other cells directly across from theirs, from the limited view they had he could see a corridor stretching down and could hear dozens more force fields in place. He was pretty sure that all of them would match what was opposite, dozens of Thennollian prisoners caged up, tired, afraid, broken. Women, children, the young and the old. The Klingons didn't show mercy to any of them.

Seeing all the cells and the people in them caused Spock to remember his dream and he realised it may not have been just a dream; he knew in a lucid state his telepathy was more acute. There was a good chance that the thoughts and feelings he had felt were from these prisoners, as horrifying as that was. These poor people had got mixed up in this mess, clearly the Klingons had set up the planet as bait, and the Enterprise had walked right into the trap. Speaking of which, he had burning questions and he'd had them ever since K'tach strode into the hall.

"Have they said anything?" He indicated to the guards. "About why we are here or why they asked for the Enterprise?"

"Nothing." Una responded darkly and glared at the guards, clearly pissed off. "When I tried to talk to them they said if I didn't stop they would kill one of the Thennollian children."

Spock resisted the urge to react visibly to the threat. No wonder why he could feel so much fear in the space; the Klingons had threatened the lives of the Thennollian's young. The Klingons clearly knew Starfleet's weakness, and they were utilising it brutally. First with Captain Pike to force him to call Enterprise and now to stop he and Una asking questions.

It was an effective strategy but one that threatened Spock's control over his temper, listening to K'tach's threats earlier had been nauseating. He didn't know how the Captain had stayed so calm; how he hadn't snapped. These Klingons had demonstrated that they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

Una suddenly turned to him. "You and the Captain were talking earlier, what was it about?"

Spock had planned on revealing everything when they beamed back aboard the Enterprise but clearly that wasn't going to happen anymore. Una's question reminded him of his own failure to act, or at the very least act _enough._

"I sensed that something was wrong, with the Thennollians and the gatekeepers." He clearly failed to keep a lid on his bitterness because Number One picked up on it.

"That's what you told the Captain?"

"Yes. He suggested I pass on my concerns to Lieutenant Amin, and remain vigilant."

_I didn't remain vigilant enough._ Was the unspoken thought.

Una nodded like she now understood something. "That's why you were on your tricorder most of the night and why you scanned the drinks."

Spock tipped his head in acknowledgment. "I was suspicious."

Una scoffed. "You had good reason to be."

Spock felt his guilt flare up again and stamped down on the unwelcome emotion, instead he kept his mouth shut and remained tight lipped. Una glanced his way when he was silent for some time; he could feel her study his expression and posture and she was soon frowning. "Spock you're not blaming yourself for this mess are you?"

Spock blinked rapidly, surprised that he was so transparent especially when he had tried to school his reaction. "I am in fact at fault. If I'd only-"

"What been a mind reader, developed x-ray vision?" Number One interrupted strongly. "Spock, the Captain and I didn't notice anything amiss until we clocked something had _you_ spooked. You brought your concerns to the Captain, kept Enterprise updated _and_ stopped us all from getting drugged."

Spock waited patiently for her to finish, but the list of events didn't abate his guilt or the fact that he should have done more. "It wasn't enough." He replied softly, remembering the moment hoards of Klingons descended on his friends and being so helpless to stop it.

Una's face softened and she placed a hand on his arm gently. "That wasn't your fault. You did all you could; we all did. They were armed Spock _and_ expecting us; they had us completely outnumbered. This was a well planned and executed trap."

Spock realised what she was trying to do so he tried to visibly let his body relax, and let go of some of his feelings of the past. It could not be changed now and Number One was right about one thing: realistically they had never stood a chance against the Klingons.

A smile slowly made its way onto Una's face and she looked happy about something. Spock studied her and their surroundings carefully but found no reason for the sudden change in mood. Una moved away from the doorway and indicated for Spock to do the same, she leaned in and spoke in soft tones clearly not wanting to be overhead by the guards. "You said you passed on your concerns to Lieutenant Amin?"

Spock nodded and his eyebrow rose as intrigue took over, he still had no idea where Number One was going with this. Thankfully Una clarified. "She is one of the most suspicious people I have ever served with, she wont let your information rest. I imagine alarm bells are already ringing, especially with the abrupt change in plans and deviation from proper protocols."

Spock now understood the first officer's change in mood but he did not share it; he was not one to indulge in wishful thinking. It was true that perhaps his urgings and the Captain's call had made Enterprise aware of a problem, but it was dangerous to think such thoughts and get caught up in hope. Still that was no reason to dash the Commander's.

"Perhaps." He eventually replied.

Before either of them could say anything more on the matter there was a blood-curdling scream that echoed down the corridor; a haunting scream full of agony from the deepest depths of hell. Spock and Una snapped to the sound and their hearts fell when they recognised the voice; it was the Captain.

* * *

Chris drifted in and out of lucidity; when he was becoming more aware everything began to throb so he shied away from the misery his body was feeling. Every time he drifted closer to conscious thought his chest throbbed, his ribs burned, his face ached and he could actually feel where his head was smashed open. In between the flashes of pain and grief he heard faint noises; screaming and yells of outrage. Pike was fairly certain that his body was dragged somewhere along the way; now he felt heavy and oddly there were constricting feelings around his chest.

"Wake him up." A voice floated through the haze in his head; he tried to place the familiar tone but he couldn't.

Out of no where something heavy and big smashed into his face; he grunted against the fresh spark of pain and his head swung to the side from the force of the blow. As soon as his brain stopped ping-ponging around inside his skull and he tried opening his eyes; he eventually figured out that he had been slapped back into the land of the living.

Chris tasted blood in his mouth and realised that his teeth must have cut his gums during the slap; he spat out the disgusting material and focussed on clearing away the remaining fog swamping his memories. He tried to focus his vision on something, anything really but he was already seeing double and his sight was greying at the edges. That was when a hand gripped his hair and painfully yanked backwards. Chris cried out and grunted whilst allowing his head to follow the hold; his head eventually collided back against a hard surface which did not do his headache any favours.

Pike blinked wearily up into the pissed off face of a Klingon; he squinted until the Klingon had two eyes rather than four. The Klingon growled down at him and sneered when he saw that the Captain was at least conscious and becoming more aware. Chris winced and hissed sharply when the Klingon released his grip, and gave his head a hard swat as a parting gift.

Chris used the unpleasant sensation to ground him in the here and now; he latched onto the agony rather than shying from it and allowing himself to fall back into darkness. On auto-pilot he went to lift his hand but frowned heavily when he felt resistance and his limb refused to move.

The Captain glanced down and took stock of his predicament. He was sat in a chair; his legs, arms and chest were held in thick leather straps so he was held securely and tightly. He tested each limb in turn which confirmed that struggling against the restraints was useless.

"Welcome back Captain."

Chris followed the voice and his eyes soon found the Klingon Commander; he was sitting in a chair of his own nonchalantly, his eyes gleamed and his arms were crossed showing just how at ease he was. K'tach was flanked on both sides by an armed Klingon guard and there was also another Klingon who was fiddling with some kind of machinery. If being restrained to a chair wasn't enough to keep him in place then the occupants of the room were.

Pike glanced around the room and swallowed when he spotted sharp implements, torture instruments and lots of blood. The Klingons had been busy. Chris suddenly realised that Spock and Number One weren't with him, what with the startling observation and the recent signs of torture…

"Where are my crew?" He snapped urgently.

K'tach smiled and waved an arm dismissively, getting to his feet as he spoke. "They're safely locked away." He moved to stand in front of Pike. "You should start worrying about your own wellbeing."

Chris ignored the threat and the way K'tach's hand strayed near his sheathed knife. He leaned back into the chair and picked a spot on the wall, choosing to stare at it rather than K'tach. "I'm not cooperating with you."

K'tach barked a laugh and clapped Chris on the shoulder jovially, it was an odd reaction and one which made Pike flinch despite his promise not to react. The Klingon Commander shook his head and walked over to one of the tables which was covered in equipment. He picked up a wooden box of some kind and turned around. "I'm afraid you won't have much choice Captain."

Pike had wanted to keep staring at the spot on the wall; to block out K'tach, his threats and any pain coming his way. Curiosity got the better of him though and he watched K'tach carry the wooden box over to the Klingon who started connecting equipment. _What the hell?_

K'tach deposited the box and eyed the Captain, smiling when he saw that he had his attention. "I assume you're wondering what I plan on doing to you?"

Pike scoffed and returned to the spot on the wall, not willing to play along with the game. K'tach didn't seem phased, in fact he pressed on without missing a beat. "I imagine that after seeing the contents of the this room you're expecting to be tortured. Technically that's not wrong."

Pike wanted to ignore the words; he wanted to fall into his training and make the room go away. The Klingon's vague threats wouldn't let him though, what the hell was K'tach talking about?

The Klingon opened the box and withdrew something which looked rather like a helmet with electrodes attached. He carried it and some sensors over to Chris. "Tell me Captain, have you ever heard of a mind probe?"

Pike snapped to the thing coming his way, already feeling his heart thudding painfully. It didn't take a genius to understand the purpose of such a device; the clue was in the name. He eyed the equipment warily when the Klingon Commander stopped just shy of his chair.

"No." Chris eventually replied. "But I can guess it's purpose."

The Klingon beamed and proceeded forward, undoing the clasps and fitting the strange looking helmet over his captive's head. If Chris wasn't so well restrained he would have struggled more, but the Klingon grasped his head in a tight hold before he shoved the probe down and secured it tightly.

Chris fought to stay calm but that was easier said than done with something strapped to his head, which had already started to whir and make noises. He had been getting prepared for physical pain, he was well accustomed to that. A mental attack on the mind however… How on earth would someone defend against such an attack? His brain threatened to flash back to Telos, where his mind was torn apart and grimly wondered if this was going to be anything like that.

Pike needed to take his mind elsewhere, thinking about _that_ was the last thing he needed. "What do you want K'tach?" He questioned forcibly, his irritation shining through.

K'tach stepped back from the chair and Chris saw the Klingon scientist begin to trail leads from his equipment to the chair. "Information Captain." K'tach answered simply.

Chris sighed. "I don't know if you're aware but whilst the Federation were at war they began to create new protocols to protect sensitive information, incase senior officers became prisoners of war."

K'tach remained silent; he simply watched his captive and showed no concern throughout Pike's speech. "All of our access codes expire daily. Mine did whilst we were eating at the feast. My information is of no use to you, not anymore."

It was the truth, and he supposed K'tach would see that when he insisted on using the damn mind probe, all this had been for nothing. He wouldn't be getting any sensitive Starfleet information from any of them. It had been an effective measure in the war; someone couldn't give up information under torture that they didn't know.

Chris waited for K'tach's violent reaction, he was expecting him to grow angry or snap. He wasn't expecting him to smile and laugh. "I could see that being a problem if I wanted information about Starfleet."

_What? What the hell else could he want? What the hell else did Chris even know?_

K'tach took a seat opposite and watched the Klingon scientist begin to hook up wires to the mind probe, and he stuck sensor pads on his neck which most likely monitored vitals. Chris' theory was confirmed when he heard a heart beat begin to thump around the room; it was elevated but then again did he really expect anything else in this situation?

"I don't understand."

K'tach leant forward, and he shifted from casual conversation to more direct probing; he gazed at his captive with sudden focus. "You were recently in command of a starship named Discovery."

_Oh no… not Discovery, don't probe my mind about that…_

They all heard his heart rate spike, K'tach eyed the machine curiously but continued. "On more than one occasion you called upon the _Chancellor_ of the Klingon Empire, and each time L'Rell came running with a D7 no less." He laughed incredulously like he had just told a funny joke, then he sobered and leaned forward the smile falling off his face. "How does a human call on the Klingon Chancellor personally? Why does she continue to come to your aid?"

_Well this was perfect._ Did it really appear like that to the outside world? That he had called L'Rell and she had come running to their aid? He supposed that with Tyler officially dead amongst the Klingon world it probably had.

"You're mistaken." Chris replied evenly, trying to keep his heart rate down so it didn't betray him. Technically he wasn't lying, he had never called on L'Rell personally he wouldn't even know where to start if it hadn't been for Tyler. "I have never contacted L'Rell."

K'tach studied the heart monitor but noticed no change, he shifted his scrutinising gaze back to Pike. "Do you know what a mind probe does Pike?"

_No and I don't want to._

"No." He replied in defeat; he was well aware that he was about to get an up-close experience.

"It scours your mind, piece by piece for any information it's programmed to find. It leaves no stone unturned, no memory is safe. If you try and resist the probe it will rip your mind apart piece by piece, getting the information it needs and leaving a trail of dead memories in its wake."

Chris wasn't afraid of many things in life but this mind probe and what it would supposedly do to his brain did frighten him. Losing one's mind, your precious memories and being unable to stop the enemy from seeing anything they desired. It terrified him. What if K'tach saw that Tyler was still alive? What if he saw the truth about Discovery? Would Chris be able to stop him? His past experience with the Talosians pointed to the fact that it would be difficult if not impossible to keep K'tach from reading his mind like an open book.

K'tach picked up on the fear and noticed the increase in heart rate; he smirked triumphantly. "Of course you could just tell me what I want to know." The Klingon Commander got to his feet and stalked towards his prisoner.

"Tell me how you contact L'Rell, I want you to bring her here."

Chris remembered how K'tach had talked about the Klingon Chancellor, and how he had proclaimed that he and his men didn't follow her. Clearly this was his attempt to overthrow the Klingon power and take it for himself.

He met K'tach's glare evenly. "I can't tell you what I don't know."

K'tach searched his face for something, but clearly he didn't find what he was looking for as his face flashed angrily. "We'll see." K'tach promised threateningly; he tilted his head to the side as if remembering something. "I heard rumours that the Discovery wasn't destroyed as reported, I don't suppose you know anything about that?"

Pike schooled his features, and bit the inside of his mouth, focussing on the pain rather than the effect of the words. His heart rate didn't alter too much but his reaction was clearly enough for K'tach as his sour mood disappeared and he smiled knowingly; he catalogued the reaction for the future.

K'tach addressed the Klingon at the controls. "Is it ready?"

The Klingon scientist nodded an affirmative, causing Pike's heart rate to spike. He gulped and felt his body go tense; he was afraid of the unknown and hoped he could keep his mind clear and in one piece before the night was out.

K'tach took one more look at his prisoner before calling for the switch to be pulled. "Begin."

At first there was nothing, Chris stared at the spot on the wall and cleared his mind of everything, clenching his fists against the arms of the chair in preparation for what was to come. After a few seconds of nothing he started to relax, and he thought that perhaps nothing was going to happen. That was when the fire was lit.

Everything exploded at once; his mind lit up like a fireworks display and agony like no other raced through each and every one of his synapses. The flames burned and scorched everything in their way, branding a path through his mind so deeply he felt the effects in every inch of his body.

Chris screamed until his throat was raw, he arched back against the chair until his ribs buckled, and he yanked at his wrists until they bled. He retreated further into his mind as the probe knocked down all his defences, chased after and unearthed every one of his memories and left a pile of ashes and misery behind.

He ran and ran away from the voice that echoed everywhere.

_Give me your mind. Surrender Christopher Pike._


	4. Chapter 4

Both Spock and Una had remained silent since the sound of screams had started to echo along the corridor; they had withdrawn into their respective minds in an attempt to try and block out the Captain's cries of pain and not let it get to them. They tried to keep busy by searching the rest of the cell for microphones; hidden cameras and any thing they could use to their advantage.

Keeping busy helped to take their minds off the torture that was currently taking place, and the psychological threats that came with it knowing that torturous fate would also soon be theirs, but sadly their search turned up nothing useful. They found no weaknesses in the cell structure or the force field and nothing to indicate they could access anything to do with power from their side; there was no sign of it running through the walls so that was another dead end.

The two officers spun on the spot when they heard a new sound resounding along the corridor leading to the cells; they both snapped out of their respective muses and stared at the force field listening keenly for what was approaching. As the sounds got louder Spock realised that what they could hear were footsteps; multiple sets of footsteps.

They both noticed the guards outside stand straighter and grip their weapons tighter; they looked far more alert and took up a position either side of their cell. They both glared daggers at their prisoners and made shooing motions to Spock and Una. The two officers got the message and they backed away from the force field, keeping their eyes fixed on where the newcomers would appear.

It wasn't long before a bundle of limbs rounded the corner; two Klingon guards who were carrying a limp body between them; the prisoner looked completely out of it and Spock noticed his legs were being dragged along the floor. Spock recognised the yellow uniform jacket; the shock of greying hair that was usually so styled and put together, which now hung in all directions falling and lolling with the Captain's head.

"Get back!" The Klingons ordered gruffly and pointed their weapons at Spock and Una. When the Starfleet officers had shuffled back as instructed the guards deactivated the force field and advanced.

Spock and Una both watched the guards drag the limp body of Captain Pike into the cell; Spock tried to get a better look at his Captain's face but Pike's head stayed glued to his chest and unmoving throughout the ordeal. The guards suddenly let go of their captive and Pike dropped like a rag doll; a small whimper escaped the Captain's lips when he crashed into the ground but he soon went still again.

Spock had been studying Pike carefully ever since he'd laid eyes on him; he'd had the intention of cataloguing any physical injuries so as to quickly assess what was critical and what he would need to focus on as soon as the Klingons left. He'd been expecting any number of gruesome injuries, especially after hearing the tortured sounds, Spock was ashamed to admit that his imagination had gotten the better of him and he hadn't been able to shut down the nauseating images the Captain's screams had conjured in his mind. So seeing the Captain laying out on the floor with no obvious injuries or blood was… illogical. The Captain was clearly in agony and Spock hadn't imagined those screams; Pike looked a broken man on the floor but clearly the cause was something other than standard physical torture.

"Take her."

Spock snapped out of his reverie and noticed the Klingon guards were indicating Number One, all the while they pointed their weapons at Spock and Pike who still hadn't moved from where he had been unceremoniously dropped. Spock wanted to intervene; he wanted to stop this ongoing nightmare from happening but Una stepped forward and shook her head at him once, a clear message to not be stupid.

Number One remained silent and let herself be restrained; she was soon marched out of the cell and all the Klingons followed her out making sure to cover the two remaining prisoners the entire way out. As soon as the force field was back in place Spock rushed over to Pike; he fell to his knees and prayed that the Captain wasn't too seriously injured. He knew it was wishful thinking; Captain Pike had a high threshold for pain and didn't usually let his injuries show.

Spock reached out to turn Pike so he could get a look at him properly. When his hand touched the Captain's skin he gasped and recoiled from the touch, shying away from the fire that had just raged through his mind. What had happened to his Captain that could cause such agony?

Spock steadied himself and prepared for another go; he fortified his mind and gritted his teeth before reaching out again, he had to get through to Pike. He gently turned the Captain over onto his back; Spock frowned when he saw his friend's scrunched up expression. Pike's eyes were squeezed tightly shut and he was moaning and breathing harshly; he was clearly in agony.

He reached out his hand and made contact with Pike's face. Now Spock was prepared for the intense hurt he embraced it and fought through the outer layers of his Captain's mind, shocked at the carnage and devastation within. It was like somebody had forged a path of fire through his head. No wonder Pike was in so much pain; why he wasn't present.

Spock fought down a surge of anger; anger at the Klingons who had wrought this on his friend. The mind was a delicate place and they had gone stomping through the Captain's like a bull in a china shop.

Not wanting to waste anymore time Spock reached out to the part of Pike's mind that was screaming the loudest and sought to help, he threw up any mental defences and shielding he could offer. It was a far cry from what he could manage if it was his own mind but hopefully what little comfort he could offer would help. It would be far more successful if he knew the Captain's mind better, but how could he?

Thankfully whatever Spock had managed to do seemed to be working; he visibly felt Pike relax beneath his grip, his breathing slowed and his features slackened. The raging fire dropped down to manageable levels, and Spock could actually feel the Captain's mind begin to recover from the assault now it wasn't being ripped apart.

Spock waited patiently until Pike recovered enough to rejoin the world of the living. Eventually he was rewarded by seeing his Captain's blue eyes blink warily open; he squinted painfully against the light for a few minutes. Spock studied Pike's features and felt a nasty jolt of anger when he saw that he was still in pain; there was little more Spock could do here without equipment and meds from the Enterprise.

Spock had been prepared for physical injuries, he had been trained to deal with those, but torture of the mind? How could one wrap a bandage around a brain?

Pike eyes eventually began to focus and he started to take in his surroundings, he frowned until he noticed Spock and seemed to recognise him.

"Spock?" He mumbled wearily, throat sounding raw and hoarse from all the screaming.

"I'm here Captain." Spock replied all the while keeping physical contact with Pike to reinforce his mental work.

Pike closed his eyes as a wave of agony tore through his mind, he clenched his fists and screwed up his face to ride it out. Spock sat silently and wished he could do more; wished he could do something to help his Captain. Eventually Pike began to mumble something, he didn't make much sense at first but eventually Spock managed to pick up the words.

"He wants to know about L'Rell, Discovery." Pike whispered, wanting only Spock to hear him.

Spock blinked in surprise, he hadn't expected Chris to be able to remember what he had been questioned about. Why did K'tach want to know about L'Rell, and more pressingly what did Pike know about L'Rell? Discovery was a whole other matter, one which brought so many emotions that Spock was forced to bury it all immediately; he didn't want to derail onto thoughts of Michael and how dangerous it was that people were asking questions.

"He asked about Discovery. He wants to know about the spore drive, where it is. Doesn't believe it was destroyed." Pike muttered, trailing off at the end as agony swept through his mind again, and he threatened to pass out.

Spock gripped the Captain harder and gritted his teeth as he felt the pain resonate through him, the emotions of Discovery's departure and the loss of Michael coming up to the surface against his will. It was becoming trying to keep a handle on his own dark thoughts and emotions when so much of his mental strength was being used to help Pike. He shook the thoughts away, and focussed on what was happening to the Captain. He started to wonder what could have done this to the human's mind; what could have left so much damage and caused this much anguish. Spock had never seen anything like it.

"Captain." He waited until Pike opened his eyes and focussed on him. "What did this to you?" Spock almost recoiled when he heard the heated anger he felt slip into his words; thankfully Pike didn't seem to notice.

The Captain took a few moments to get his scattered thoughts in order; his face was screwed up in concentration whilst he tried to remember what had happened and how to put what had happened to him into words. "A mind probe…" Pike eventually slurred then frowned; he seemed cross with how unresponsive his tongue seemed to be. "…he said it would scour my memories, tear them apart to get the information they need."

'Tear them apart' was a rather accurate description, Spock could feel the damage that had already been done to his Captain's mind. He had never heard of a monstrosity before but he already despised it and the beings that had thought up its inception in the first place. Spock quietly seethed whilst Pike continued to become more present; his voice was sounding stronger and he looked less distant and distracted.

"Thinking about the past helped, the further back I went the slower the mind probe seemed to work." Out of the blue Chris chuckled when he remembered something funny. "It really pissed K'tach off."

Spock shook his head in disbelief, how could Pike laugh at a time like this when Spock wanted to punch the nearest wall? It always amazed him how the Captain could drag himself through almost anything; a human's ability to find a moment of light in the darkest of times was confounding.

Spock shied away from his emotions and tried to think about the information as data; it was a rudimentary way to distance himself from his anger but he needed something to focus on other than the state of his friend's mind. He began to wonder why Pike had been brought back into the cell. K'tach hadn't struck Spock as merciful so why hadn't the Commander tortured the Captain until he had broken?

"Why did they stop?"

Pike frowned heavily and glanced around the space, his mouth opened but nothing came out at first. Spock could see that Pike was clearly confused, and perhaps just realising truly that the torture _had_ in fact stopped and that he was in a new place. Chris spent a while simply staring at the force field and the rest of the cell, perhaps not quite believing what his eyes were telling him. Spock hardly blamed him after the assault on his mind.

"The scientist mentioned something about my brain burning out." Pike eventually mumbled, not meeting Spock's worried gaze. For his part Spock almost stopped breathing, how could the Captain say something like that so casually?

"K'tach kept ordering a higher setting, but if they hadn't stopped I wouldn't be around anymore." Pike muttered darkly and finally ripped his gaze away from the force field. He held a hand up to his head and winced when a new smaller wave of pain shot through his mind.

Spock remained completely silent and still, he was horrified that his Captain's mind had almost been ripped apart beyond repair. The situation was much worse than he could have imagined. Pike began to sit up carefully whilst Spock watched on ready to intervene if the Captain pushed himself too far; which he was prone to do.

After a lot of cursing and groaning Pike was upright and mostly steady, he indicated to the space around them and finished his explanation. "So they threw me in here… said they'd come back later."

All of a sudden Pike's eyes turned wild and he glanced around the cell and saw that he and Spock were alone, only just realising there was a member of their away party missing. "Una!?" He called out hoarsely, desperately. The wild movements did not agree with the Captain's treatment and he was soon doubled over and crying out in pain.

Spock felt his heart clench, he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news but someone had to be. "They took her." He informed Pike gravely; he pushed him back down to the floor gently knowing he was in no fit state to be moving yet.

A pure state of anguish flashed across the Captain's face. Pike looked to be in terrible pain and for a horrible moment Spock thought he was about to burst into tears. He was most likely thinking of the terror and misery Una was feeling right now, and what she was going through after his own unthinkable torture. Spock had to admit even he was affected by the thought of it, especially after seeing the results of the Klingons interrogation first hand. They were monsters.

Pike's expression flipped. The anguish evaporated to be replaced by pure rage. A terrible fury took over his whole temperament; so much so that he was shaking and his hands were clenched into fists. "I'll kill that bastard if he hurts either of you."

Spock glanced down at Pike and he spied the physical giveaways of just how out of control the Captain was; he wasn't one to lose his cool easily. Spock understood the severity of his Captain's hatred because he was feeling the same. After seeing what K'tach had done… after seeing his friend's mind almost torn apart… Spock's own reply went unvoiced.

_I'll kill him for what he's done to you._

* * *

Lieutenant Amin frowned as she reread the transcript from the Captain's call. At first she thought he had sounded distracted but after reviewing the call she realised that he had actually sounded tense, unusually so even for a diplomatic affair and not only that, but procedures and protocols had been missed.

She had followed the Captain's instructions to the letter; the Enterprise remained in orbit and the diplomatic teams had been working away on documents for the Thennollians admission to the Federation. With little else to do her mind had gone wandering. She thought back on Spock's concerns from the planet; that coupled with the fact she couldn't contact any of the away team.

Deciding this concern wouldn't let her rest until she knew for sure Amin turned in the chair to Lieutenant Nicola. "Have there been any changes on the scans from the planet?"

Nicola tapped away at his controls before answering. "Nothing the Enterprise can see. Why?"

Amin thought for a moment she was being paranoid; that she was making something out of nothing and potentially embarrassing herself, but what if she wasn't? What if something had happened and she just ignored her instincts; she would never live with herself if that turned out to be the case.

Decision made she walked over to Nicola's station. "Captain Pike didn't follow proper protocol on the call, we're supposed to agree on a new check in time, and I've been looking over the concerns Lieutenant Spock sent up…"

"You think something's gone wrong."

Amin felt more emboldened, voicing her concerns had made them all the more real. "I do. Also we can't contact any member of the away team on emergency channels, text or voice. There's no reason why they shouldn't be responding."

Amin strode up to the main bridge console; took a seat next to helm and starting to bring up the scans of the planet on the main screen plus any other live information they had. "Everyone look carefully, see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary."

There was a chorus of yes's as the entire bridge crew took up the task with vigour; they were all happy to have something to do but hoped that it wouldn't end up the way Amin thought it would. Amin stared at all of the life signs; it all looked normal and what they would expect to see. The Captain's, Spock's and Una's in quarters alone and stationary, and the Thennollians dotted around the palace.

Nicola arrived over her shoulder and stared at the feed to. "They all look like they're in assigned quarters."

"So why aren't they responding?" Amin asked frustrated. She was no closer to quelling her internal fears.

Suddenly the screen flickered, it was so sudden that Amin thought she had missed it. Thankfully Nicola had seen it too, he pointed at the spot where he had seen something abnormal. "What was that? Rewind."

Amin shifted the footage back frame by frame until the interruption was on screen. The bridge crew gasped when they saw another completely different set of life signs appear in front of them.

"Are those Klingons?" Yeoman Colt exclaimed whilst pointing at the large clumps.

Amin's fingers flew over the console and she quickly and efficiently gathered information about each of the life signs. "Yes, and that's the Thennollians and two human life signs." She highlighted the areas clumped together in a box pattern, guarded by Klingons.

Amin felt her stomach drop as she came to a startling conclusion; the Thennollians and the away team were imprisoned. She could feel the bridge crew begin to share nervous glances; they weren't sure what to do next or how to handle the gut-punching facts that their Captain _and_ first officer were in danger.

She took a deep breath, fell back on her training and took charge of the situation. The Captain had left her in charge of the ship so she needed to stand up and do something about this disaster, Pike trusted her to handle matters if something went wrong. Amin doubted the Captain expected anything as serious as this but still the sentiment remained; he trusted her and right now the the away team were relying on the Enterprise.

Emboldened by that trust Amin got to her feet and addressed the stunned bridge crew. "They've been generating fake life signs, we need to find a way to punch through the facade. Our people need us."

* * *

Time crawled along slowly within the cell, between the whimpers of the other prisoners, the laughter of the Klingons and hearing Una's cries of pain the sounds were driving both Pike and Spock mad. They both focussed on trying to keep busy so Spock continued to help the Captain through the worst of the mind probe's attack; he reinforced what little mental shielding he could manage and remained by Pike's side whilst he suffered the painful after effects of his torture.

When Chris felt more aware and steady he suggested they start to analyse the Klingon guard's schedules and walk throughs, mostly just to have something to do that took their minds off of the distressing sounds. Every scream Chris heard cut straight through to his heart; he couldn't help but imagine Number One in that room… strapped to that chair…

Spock soon caught on to Pike's distress and that it was slowing down his recovery; he started talking about everything and nothing in a rather blatant attempt to distract them both. Chris didn't mind, he would take anything over hearing the screams. That worked for a while, until the Klingons returned.

Chris leaned back against the wall of the cell and reflected on just how long it had been since he'd seen Spock. He had tried to keep track of time in his head but so far hadn't done a very good job. The Klingons had been and gone; they had dragged Number One into the cell and deposited her roughly on the floor. The guards had then headed straight towards Spock, Chris had tried to put himself between the Klingons and their target but they didn't let that get in their way. When Pike had spoken out and tried to get them to take him instead; they had simply hit him until he crashed back to the floor of the cell.

For his part, Spock had left willingly and on the surface he looked calm. Pike knew his friend well enough to see that Spock wasn't so calm underneath especially when he looked down at Chris. However Spock had followed the Klingons out of the cell after telling his Captain that it was alright, and that he was going to be okay. Chris watched him go wistfully and wondered how Spock could say that with a straight face after hearing what he'd heard and seen what he'd seen.

His attention soon snapped to Una when he heard her whimper in pain and clutch at her head. Chris had crawled over to Una; he clutched his injured ribs and put his own pains aside desperate to get to her side faster. Number One wasn't conscious when he reached her side, it almost looked like she was having a nightmare and Pike knew from experience that was a fairly accurate description.

Chris gripped her hand and rode out the pain with her just like Spock had done for him. He whispered soothing words when she went deep into the throes of her mind and got caught up with some previous nightmare or memory. Throughout his lonely vigil he kept his hateful gaze on the Klingons outside the door; he was unsure whether he should be more happy or worried that he hadn't heard anything from Spock.

Spock could be holding out far better than the rest of them, perhaps his telepathic abilities meant he stood a chance against the mind probe. Either way not knowing what was happening to his friend was the worst thing.

Pike was left alone with his thoughts, the only time he was roused from his stupor was when Una shifted on the floor and grunted through the waves of pain until Chris calmed her and brought her out of the nightmares. Seeing her suffering like this, and knowing that Spock was in a similar situation was eating away at him.

He should have listened to Spock's concerns; he should have seen all this coming a hell of a lot sooner. The Thennollians wouldn't be prisoners and Una and Spock wouldn't have been tortured. He was so caught up in his own head that he didn't notice Number One return to the land of the living; he didn't notice that she had been staring up at him for the last few minutes studying his brooding.

"You know you're just as bad as Spock." She muttered, voice hoarse and used.

Pike blinked and glanced down at her, surprised that he hadn't noticed her hand moving beneath his; that he hadn't noticed her reawakening. Chris managed a tight smile when he saw her expression wasn't screwed up in pain, her eyes appeared clear and her muscles seemed less tense.

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently.

She smiled and motioned for him to help her to sit up. "You both blame yourself far too much. This isn't your fault you know." She scolded, raising an eyebrow at him.

Pike smirked bashfully. He had been caught out moping and showing just how guilty he was feeling all the while thinking no-one was watching. Unusually he didn't agree with his first officer's assessment, he knew he was to blame. Still he wouldn't argue about that now. He deftly changed the subject, honing in on her discomfort as he helped her up.

"How are you holding up?"

Una frowned and held her head in her hands, wincing as another wave of pain rode through her. Pike sympathised, he knew how badly she was hurting. He would kill K'tach if he ever got his hands on him.

Una eventually responded with a groan. "I feel like I drank a whole bottle of Romulan ale."

Pike snorted. He knew very well that Una had prior experience of doing just that and had suffered the hangover from it, he should know he had shared the bottle with her. They fell into a strained silence, Pike gave Una a moment to collect her thoughts and reorient herself with the upward position. She glanced around and her expression fell.

"They took Spock?"

Pike stilled, his breath catching. He still hadn't heard any sounds along the corridor. He nodded his head morbidly, trying to reign in his temper when he thought of K'tach laying a hand on his friends. Una swore. Pike didn't reprimand her or react to the curse in any way. If there was ever a time for it he could see it would be now. They were both quite protective of Spock, Chris mused that Una probably felt just as responsible as he did, what with being XO.

"Una." He began quietly, waiting until he had her attention, what he had to say was important. "If you see a chance, take it. Get Spock and the Thennollians out of here."

He gulped and glanced nervously at the Klingon guards, content that they weren't paying them any attention. "I'm going to try and cause a distraction, do everything you can to get out of here." He stared at her face, knowing his next order would not go down well. "Don't wait for me."

Una reared up instantly, her expression frosting over completely. "Captain that is not going to happen." She replied fiercely.

Pike kept his features schooled. "Una we have a responsibility to others, my life is not as important as theirs."

Una visibly flinched. "_Chris._" She purposefully used his first name; in a scolding, reprimanding tone that would usually flatten most men. "Your life isn't any less important than anyone else's."

Pike sighed and looked away; he shook his head at his XO's stubbornness. Sometimes he wished she would just do as he asked without questioning it. He wanted her and Spock out of here, whatever happened to him he could live with. Una clearly didn't agree.

She gripped his arm and tugged until he looked at her again, he could see the emotion in her face, the anger he had ignited by even suggesting such a thing. "We don't leave each other behind." She gripped his hand tightly, her voice cracked and she trailed off quietly. "Starfleet doesn't do that."

Pike closed his eyes and resisted the urge to smile, it was like his own words being parroted back at him from the past. If anyone had told him to leave them behind he would have told them to sod off; only in the direst of circumstances people had to sacrifice themselves.

Chris would be lying if he said he wouldn't have reacted the same way if the situation were reversed, Number One was getting too much like him for her own good. She was fiercely commanding, and stubborn to the point of insubordination; she never shied away from what it meant to be Starfleet. Chris admired her for it.

"Okay Una, I hear you." He squeezed her hand right back, grateful for her abiding faith in him, her council, and the fact she was always by his side. "Just-" He paused and sighed. "-please get Spock out of here."

He had such a promising life ahead of him, Chris was sure of that. He would not have the kid die on his watch, not when it was Pike's mistake that led to this. Una nodded sombrely, feeling the same protectiveness that Chris did. They had both watched Spock grow into the officer he was today, the leadership qualities shining through and his own journey learning who he was.

She nodded fiercely. "I'll get us _all_ out of here."

Pike realised what she was saying; she wouldn't be leaving until he did. He sighed heavily but let it go, Una would do her duty and save the Thennollians and that was good enough for him. As much as he would want her to leave and get out he knew she would never agree to such a thing, she would do what he would. Never leave anyone behind.

It wasn't long after that conversation when they heard people approaching down the corridor; along with the sound of footsteps and feet dragging. Pike and Una both got to their feet, they watched the oncoming Klingons like hawks, studying their approach for any weakness they could exploit and grab a weapon. Predictably the Klingons didn't make any mistakes and they definitely didn't show any weaknesses.

They ordered Pike and Number One back against the wall before deactivating the force field. The same routine was repeated as earlier, Spock was thrown into the cell and the Klingon guards kept their disruptors aimed at the prisoners. Pike stared down at his friend in dismay, he was still conscious but Chris could see a hell of a lot of new bruises splattering his face and there was green blood smattered liberally other his chest and head.

Not only that but when Spock had hit the ground he had cried out loudly and proceeded to curl his arms around his chest protectively, indicating internal injuries. Why had they felt the need to beat Spock like this? Seeing his friend in agony on the floor lit a new fire within the Captain. He didn't have long to fester in his newly-stoked rage as he soon became aware of footsteps heading towards him.

Two of the Klingon guards were storming towards him and Number One with their weapons held up threateningly; both brutes looked as angry and merciless as ever. Una suddenly stepped out in front of Pike after seeing he was the Klingon's target.

The guards shoved Una away powerfully and she went flying to the floor. Outraged and desperate to protect his friends, Chris leapt forward against the Klingons. He managed to land one punch against the Klingon that had assaulted Una, before a fist crashed into his stomach and he was doubling over; clutching his ribs whilst gasping desperately for air. Before he could grasp at any oxygen they grabbed his arms and forced him backwards, pulling him up from his doubled over position.

Pike was spun and slammed up against the cell wall, knocking his head and jaw nastily in the same place as in the earlier scuffle. His natural instinct was to struggle against the crushing hold, that was until one of the Klingon disruptors pressed against his neck. His wrists were grabbed one by one and twisted painfully behind his back, and captured in biting restraints.

When the Klingons were done they grabbed his arm and hauled him out of the cell at speed, almost tripping him in the process. Chris had finally managed to snatch a few breaths but his vision was still somewhat blurry, not helped by the latest episode with the wall.

Chris looked back over his shoulder and saw Una rushing towards Spock's crumpled body, before he was bundled round the corner and back towards K'tach.


	5. Chapter 5

It was all go aboard the Enterprise. After the bridge crew had all witnessed the fake life signs and the revelation of Klingons down on the surface, they had stormed into action and gathered heads of department together. Security teams made their way to the bridge and gathered around in a circle.

The screens along the edges of the room were all showing the tactical analysis of the palace down below, including an up to date floor plan and accurate life signs. Lieutenant Nicola had managed to break through the decryption signal that had been blocking their scanners, and he had done it all without alerting the Klingons that the Enterprise was suspicious. From the surface nothing had changed up in the sky, the Enterprise was still flying in a standard orbit as instructed and no communications had been sent out of fear of them being detected.

"We can beam multiple teams into this area." The head of security team Alpha stated, pointing at the area where the majority of the prisoners were being held; in the cells in the lower levels of the palace. "But we'll need the force fields off, around the palace and inside it otherwise we can't beam in or out. No power at all would be the most ideal solution, it would give us the element of surprise."

Amin nodded thoughtfully, turning to Nicola. "Can you cut power to the whole place and make sure their shields and force fields are knocked out?"

Nicola made a few notes then began conferring with the engineering and science core, after a few moments of deliberation he nodded enthusiastically. "We can repurpose the tractor beam to emit a high frequency wave which will act as an electro magnetic pulse, it will knock the power out over the entire area."

The respective security teams all looked happy with the plan, they were all suited up in tactical gear and rearing to get down to their people. "Okay. How long will that take?"

"No longer than 30 minutes." The science and engineering core replied together.

Amin was as eager as the security team to get down there and get their Captain and officers back, and 30 minutes was frankly too long. "Make it 15." She ordered and watched the engineering team's eyes widen, they soon accepted the challenge and sped off the bridge.

With the engineering teams in full swing Amin turned her attention to the rest of the bridge crew and the security teams. "Have the teams ready to begin beaming down in 15 minutes. Full tactical assault gear for all personnel." She wasn't taking any chances, not after they had already been lied to and deceived by the Klingons.

Amin addressed Lieutenant Mann who was covering helm. "I want the Enterprise above the palace in 15 minutes, speed up or slow down if you have to but do not come to a stop until the teams are beaming down." They didn't want to tip off anyone before they'd shown their hand, their biggest advantage at the moment was surprise.

Amin returned her attention to the boarding teams who were huddled around the edge of the bridge. "When you get down to the surface neutralise any threat to life and begin beaming back anyone you find to the Enterprise."

Her final concern was a medical one, and cleaning up the aftermath of what had been done to their colleagues and what might happen to the away teams. "Doctor Boyce, we'll need medical teams on standby and be prepared for Klingon disrupter injuries."

Boyce looked grave and nodded grimly. "We'll be prepared, for that and a whole other load of injuries."

His meaning was clear, they all knew that the away team had probably suffered interrogation, and where Klingons were concerned that could never be non-violent. They could be dealing with anything from broken bones to missing limbs to dead colleagues. Amin hoped it wouldn't come to that. She had finally been given a glimpse into what it was like for Captain Pike, sending people into danger and having to accept that not all of them could come back; having the pressure of people's lives on her shoulders.

It was an unpleasant sensation and one she didn't want to feel again for some time, she wanted the Captain back in one piece and she wanted more than anything else for everything to be back to normal. Lieutenant Amin studied the room and saw only determined faces looking back, they were all emboldened by their mission and the plan they had all put together. "Let's get our people back."

* * *

The bell rung loudly throughout the classroom signalling the end of lessons for the week. Chris gathered up his notes, data pads and work before following the stream of cadets out of the classroom. There was a spring in his step and a jovial mood in the air; it was the weekend and the weather outside was glorious. If he was lucky he could get his astrophysics assignment out of the way quickly and hit the bars early.

He was fully expecting Philippa and Leland to be at the Academy union tonight, along with half of Starfleet's cadets. Summer was in full swing, people were completing finals left, right and centre, and there was just something about the summer air that drove everyone outdoors until the early hours. Chris strolled briskly along the corridors towards his shared quarters, smiling unabashed at a group of girls who were checking him out along the way, he earned a few giggles and flushed faces for his efforts.

Chris was grinning from ear to ear. Well he was until he turned the corner and froze in shock; he dropped his notes and data pads and lost all ability to move. Standing at the other end of the corridor was a Klingon, a full grown vicious looking Klingon. Chris' mouth dropped open stupidly and he blinked a couple of times, thinking that it would make the apparition disappear. The corridor had been so busy and full of life just seconds earlier, but now it was empty and dark; the lights started to go out one by one. Chris felt a cold chill touch his spine and he felt the urgent need to get the hell out of there.

The Klingon finally turned and spotted him, and he was positively spitting with anger. He started forward aggressively and snarled. "You can't hide in the past forever Captain."

_Captain?_

Chris stumbled backwards and ended up tripping over his own feet. He fell to the floor hard and smacked his head against the floor. Suddenly a rush of memories flashed into his mind: _Enterprise, Spock, Una, K'tach, the mind probe…_

His life slammed back into existence and he realised K'tach and the mind probe had found him again, he had been trying to take refuge in the past but the technique only lasted so long, K'tach always found him. A weapon suddenly appeared in the Klingon Commander's hand, and Chris thought for the second time that it would be a good idea to get to his feet and get the hell out of there.

He scrambled away just as a blaster bolt smashed into the ground and blasted away a chunk of concrete. Chris sailed around the corner at top speed skidding as he went and just narrowly avoiding a second lethal blast. He heard the Klingon's thudding footsteps behind him and enraged shouts, the noise only fuelled him onwards as he raced down the corridors and ran out into the open foyer.

Pike leapt over the water fountain and ducked just in time when his senses warned him of an oncoming bolt, he splashed his way out of the feature and made a dash for the outside world, not completely realising that everything seemed to be getting darker and where had all the people gone?

He reached the door to the outside and yanked on the handle literally throwing himself outside. "Get back here Pike!" He heard the Klingon yell a threat before the world span and morphed into flashes of something new.

It was like he was in some kind of warp effect yet he could see memories pop up, feel emotions of the past and he could reach out and touch things from each. He saw him and his younger brother horse back riding as children back in Mojave, he saw countless academy days spent with friends seeing the universe for the first time, he saw his very first days as a test pilot and smiled warmly at the nostalgia it provoked.

The memories moved forward and suddenly he was watching the Enterprise from a space shuttle, he was about to board for the first time and he felt the nerves from that moment hit him like a wave. Soon all his memories were taking place on the Enterprise and he saw crew come and go, he watched and felt the pain of Talos, made friends and lost others. A particular memory popped up which had him recoil.

_"Then I owe you a simile. Commander…"_

_"Burnham, Michael Burnham."_

_"He said you were smart."_

_No, no, no._ These memories were too recent, the mind probe was bringing him back into the present and that was Discovery... Chris mentally and physically dug his heels into the ground, trying anything too slow down the blur of thoughts. As soon as he started resisting he felt horrifying pain burn through his mind, he glanced around and saw fire everywhere, ravaging his memories and leaving behind only destruction in their wake.

He fell to his knees and screamed and yelled in anguish as the battle continued, the probe tugging him one way whilst he knew he had to go backwards. It was all becoming too much and he couldn't think anymore. Chris lost the ability to even stay upright and collapsed in a heap on the floor, gasping for air and clutching his head as it was ripped apart from the inside out.

Distantly he felt his real body go rigid and then spasm. He felt the tight restraints biting into his skin, and then he heard someone shout for a higher setting and almost laughed; how could it go higher than this? His brain was splitting in two. He knew he couldn't run anymore; he was about to give in when everything stopped.

Everything turned dark around him like someone had just shut off all the lights and the burning receded, the flames all disappeared into nothingness. Before he could figure out what the hell was going on he felt a sharp tug and he was literally ripped from his own mind, at first he was worried his brain had just given up and collapsed entirely but he soon realised he could feel his real body and more than that he could move his hands.

Carefully he tried to open his eyes one by one, blearily looking through the haze to take stock of the situation. His body felt tense and tired, his chest and wrists bruised and his throat was sore like he had been eating sand paper. His head was on a whole other level of hurt.

He tried to blink away the darkness until he realised that it wasn't his mind that was the problem, all the power and lights had gone off in the room. When his eyes adjusted he made out the outline of the scientist looking at the mind probe controls, the machine seemed to be smoking and was completely non-responsive. The mind probe losing power certainly explained the sudden halt in interrogation and honestly it was a welcome one, he had been right on the edge there.

"What's going on?" K'tach screamed at the guards and the scientist.

Pike screwed up his face and winced, the loud voice cut straight through his brain and left another scar. He needed peace right now not a demanding Klingon who wanted his toys back.

"We have lost power across the whole site."

Pike latched onto the words and prayed it was because of what he hoped it would be, that this was the Enterprise's doing and assault teams were on the way.

"Well get it fixed!" K'tach ordered.

"We can't do it from here." The scientist replied, already motioning for the two of them to leave the room.

Pike was suddenly aware of scrutiny so he remained still and feigned that he wasn't following any of the recent events. He let his head sag against his chest to fake that he didn't have the strength to hold it up, he exaggerated his panting and groans and let his body fall lax. Clearly the broken image worked for him because K'tach ordered the guards to take him back to the cell, mentioning that he was of no use to him dead.

_Well I'm glad I have some use._ Pike thought bitterly.

Soon after dishing out a bark of orders K'tach and the scientist stormed out of the room, leaving just Pike and the 2 Klingon guards. Not ideal but doable.

Chris stayed as still as he could manage and forced his body to play dead, letting his eyes close and his breathing fall shallow. Hopefully he was mimicking all the symptoms of unconsciousness or at least enough to fool his two guards. Pike felt them prod him and pull his head up, looking for any signs of stirring. He remained limp throughout the survey and soon enough the guards were unbuckling his restraints.

They each took a hold of one his arms and hauled him up. Chris let his body act like a rag doll, limbs heavy and his head lolling down as they adjusted to his weight. They grunted and began to drag him towards the door, not having the slightest idea that their captive was actually awake and very aware. The sudden escape opportunity had Pike put aside the worst of his injuries and the pounding in his head; the adrenaline from the excitement helped too.

Knowing it was now or never Pike took a deep breath and suddenly stood tall, and he ripped his arms from the unbalanced Klingon's grips in one smooth movement. He heard them both yell out in surprise but he ignored it, already bringing up his hands to grab a hold of their heads. He showed no hesitation nor mercy and slammed his captives head's together powerfully, hearing a humongous thunk when skull hit skull.

They bounced off one another and crashed to the floor groaning and shouting, falling limp like their strings had been cut. Pike wasted no time, he brutally smashed a boot into one of the guard's heads and heard a satisfying crunch, the other Klingon got the mind probe's heavy box slammed over his head. The container smashed and splintered as it connected, disintegrating into nothingness at Pike's feet. Both guards' eyes rolled into the back of their heads and they fell completely limp.

After a quick study the Captain was satisfied that his former captors were now unconscious and no longer a threat. He grabbed one of the guard's blasters and headed for the door, already hearing the sounds of battle breaking out beyond it.

On his way out he was plagued with flashes of memories: his own torture, hearing Una's cries of agony and seeing Spock beaten and bloodied. Chris only had one thing on his mind, one thing that drove him onwards into the battle raging outside at breakneck speed: K'tach.

* * *

Spock focussed his attention on achieving an optimum breathing pattern, one which allowed him to focus all of his mental energies on the pain in his side, and to not aggravate said pain any further than was necessary. He had catalogued three broken ribs and internal damage that was so far being contained, it was painful but for the moment not life threatening. Each time he moved the various aches and pains flared up so he tried hard not to move, he leant against the wall where Una had propped him up.

Number One was not one to sit still. She was pacing up and down the small length of the cell with a murderous scowl firmly in place; she shot daggers at the Klingon guards outside and clenched her fists each time she heard the Captain's screams.

Pike had been dragged away some time ago, Spock was annoyed at himself for not being more accurate but he had been compromised when the Klingon guards had returned him to the cell. It hadn't taken long for the torture to begin and for the haunted cries to echo along the corridor. As soon as it had started up, Una had got to her feet and begun to pace like a trapped animal, needing to do something with the burning rage she felt.

For his part Spock tried to block the screams out like they both had earlier, but it was impossible now. Spock had been in that room, and he'd felt the power of the mind probe for himself. It was a wonder that humans had held out against the crude machine for so long; it had taken all his mental strength to keep the implement at bay and away from the memories it sought. K'tach hadn't liked his resistance, hence Spock's broken ribs and internal injuries.

As more time passed Spock realised sitting still was beginning to make his muscles stiff and lock up, he knew he had to try and stretch out his limbs regardless of the discomfort it would cause. He also wanted to go and see why Number One was spending so much of her time staring at the guards, she looked on edge and whilst it could just be curiosity Spock had a feeling it was something more, like she was waiting on something.

He carefully pushed himself away from the wall and dragged his body to its feet, content that the pain was manageable at least for now. 'Mind over matter' was the mantra he kept repeating, as with everything though it was easier said than done. Spock reached Una's side and joined her in watching the guards outside.

Eventually she noticed he was there and managed a weary smile. "The Captain ordered me to leave him behind, to get you and the Thennollians out if we get a chance."

Spock blinked and held back the words he wanted to say, what was it with self-sacrificing humans? The behaviour was becoming insufferable and he wished Captain Pike would stop throwing himself in front of every danger, the last thing Spock wanted was to see him hurt or worse. He knocked aside the unusual flash of emotion and replied.

"I presume you informed him we would be doing nothing of the kind." He replayed his own words in his mind and realised he had sounded more heated than usual, the torture of his friends had affected him more than he had imagined.

Una shot him a smirk and her eyes danced with mirth. "You're damn right I did." They both sobered when they heard another cry. "Stubborn idiot." She muttered without heat, in fact if Spock was analysing it correctly Una's voice had just cracked and she sounded anguished.

Out of nowhere the whole cell went black, the force field fizzled out of existence and the power blacked out in the entire cell block. Una was moving before the Klingon guards knew what hit them, Spock was only a nano second behind and raced towards the other guard. They dispatched the two Klingons before they even had a chance to pull their weapons, Spock taking out his with a Vulcan nerve pinch and Una smashing a fist into the other's head brutally.

The Klingons both sunk to the floor and the two Starfleet officers went for their weapons, picking them up and retreating back to cover when they heard multiple steps of feet stomping towards them along the corridor. Spock ignored the flash of pain the sudden movements cost and focussed on the adrenaline flooding his system, taking this moment as what it was; a chance to get out.

They both fired at the first Klingons to race around the corner, kick-starting a vicious fire fight between the two sides. It didn't take a genius to see they were outnumbered and Spock could hear more reinforcements pouring into the cell area, yet he and Una stood their ground and kept the Thennollians and themselves covered as best they could manage.

"Take cover! Stay in the cells!" Una cried out desperately to the Thennollian prisoners, seeing that their force fields were down and they were in danger of getting caught in the crossfire if they stepped out in the open.

Spock felt his skin tingle and noticed the subtle differences in the air, the sudden build up of static and the faint hum of electricity. He knew those sounds, there were people transporting in. In no time at all golden glows appeared all around the cell area, most beaming in behind cover or in the cells themselves but all of them armed in full tactical assault gear, and all of them members of the Enterprise crew.

Spock saw Una grin madly as she watched them all materialise around them and join in the fight; the away team handed the pair of them phasers they were more used to. Spock hadn't dared to think that the power cut had been the work of the ship but now there was no doubt, Una had been right about Lieutenant Amin's suspicious nature.

With the additional numbers from the Enterprise the firefight was finally swinging in their favour and it wasn't long before they were pressing the Klingons back into the corridor. Spock took the opportunity to move closer and darted from cover, sidestepping felled Klingons as he ran.

He and Una were soon on the front line of the fight with similar thoughts in mind: to get to Captain Pike. They held the front line along with other Enterprise security officers and managed to keep the Klingons at bay, although they themselves were pinned down in the cell area. Spock heard his fellow officers begin to beam out the Thennollian prisoners to safety.

Far down the darkened corridor, behind the lines of Klingons Spock spotted K'tach race out of an adjoining corridor, gun in hand and pelting away from the fight, glancing over his shoulder and firing back at something unknown every now and then.

Spock was puzzled by the confusing behaviour until he saw the Captain race around the same corner and fire after K'tach with a disruptor weapon, barely missing the Commander by a few inches. He gave chase after the retreating Klingon, oblivious to the battle at the other end of the corridor and too caught up in the moment and his objective.

"Captain!" Spock yelled out, realising it was futile and that Pike wouldn't hear him. There was a whole Klingon army between them and the Captain was already running the other way at speed.

Spock watched as Chris disappeared behind a door at the end of the corridor, rushing head first into the unknown and possibly death. Spock felt panic rise and pushed onward into the corridor, his shooting becoming more urgent as he moved from cover to cover knowing only one thing mattered now.

He had to reach the Captain.

* * *

Pike skidded around the corner and ducked instinctively, narrowly avoiding a blaster bolt to the head. He brought up his own weapon, gritted his teeth and fired back at his enemy. He felt a flare of satisfaction when the disruptor blast hit his target; well he had hit K'tach's hand but a hit was a hit. The disruptor blast caused the Klingon to drop his weapon and howl in agony.

Seeing that the Klingon Commander was tempted to dive for the weapon Chris raced forward and fired at the ground next to it. Sadly K'tach took one look at Pike and disappeared around a corner, strangely running from a fight which was not the Klingon way.

Pike picked up his pace and followed K'tach down the winding corridors, but he lost sight of him almost immediately. His heart was thudding painfully, his head felt like it was splitting in two and his whole body ached badly. The adrenaline from the chase was helping him to mask the deficiencies but it was beginning to wane. The only thing keeping him on his feet and moving forward was the overwhelming urge to stop K'tach for what he had done.

He could forgive what had been done to him. It hadn't been pleasant and messing with his mind had not only been agonising, but had brought on nasty memories of Talos, but he preferred to hear his own screams rather than his friends. What Chris could not forgive was the cruelty exhibited by K'tach, how he had treated not only the Thennollians but also Spock and Una. The worse thing was he had enjoyed it all; he had_ laughed._

He yelled at K'tach to face him and to stop running like a coward. Pike heard a growl in response and followed the noise, leaping over sparking wires and blown out remnants of lights. The only light available to them now was the emergency red lighting which bathed the corridors in a creepy shade of crimson. The Captain could still hear a firefight raging in the distance, he had to hope that the Enterprise had been responsible for the power outage and that they were focussing on the prisoners in the cells.

Chris turned the corner and was met with a literal dead end. There was only one door at the end of the corridor which was still in the process of closing, and beyond that only silence. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down; he tried to control the unnatural urges he was feeling. He glanced down at his limbs and marvelled that he was actually _shaking_ with rage, well that was new.

All he could think about was getting his hands on K'tach, about pulling the trigger and making sure he would never hurt anyone again. The alien thoughts should have terrified him, but for some reason they only strengthened his resolve. He ruthlessly quashed the voice of common sense and proceeded forwards towards the door; his weapon was raised ready and he was scanning everything for any sign of attack.

Pike kicked the door open and heard it clatter against a metal wall; it almost came off its hinges under the force. _Okay_ maybe he was a little too angry, he was scarily edging towards being out of control. Walking into the darkened silent room he knew he should be cautious or scared, there was a blood thirsty Klingon waiting for him somewhere within. All Chris could feel though was impatience to get in there and end K'tach for good.

Pike stepped forward into the darkness, the Klingon weapon abruptly felt unwieldy and heavy in his hands. He steeled himself and pressed on, the emergency lights flashed on and off casting the room in a dim light then back into darkness over and over. He strained his eyes and ears to try and find any trace of the Klingon in the disorientating room.

Broken glass crunched beneath his feet, and the smell of phaser fire was in the air. Pike whirled around on the spot and couldn't spot any other exits. As far as he could tell the place was some kind of laboratory, it had electronics scattered over tabletops, computers set up and a glass view screen of some kind through to another room.

Without warning K'tach roared and dropped upon his victim like a cat pouncing from a tree. Pike sensed the incoming danger a second too late and only managed to turn on his enemy when K'tach was already barrelling into him.

Chris grunted and went down hard, falling under the immense weight and crashing into the floor flat on his back with the Klingon Commander on top of him. He went to bring the weapon up to aim at K'tach's head but the Klingon anticipated such a move.

Pike cried out when K'tach grabbed his wrists and shoved them down to the floor, lifting them up and back down again until they both heard a resounding crack echo through the room, which Chris was pretty sure had been some of his fingers breaking. He unwillingly let go of the weapon which scattered away and slid under a cabinet, far out of reach for either of them.

Fire burned up his hand but Pike ruthlessly pushed it aside and drew on what little strength he had left, recognising the danger he was in. K'tach grinned and laughed at his victory which was when Chris made his move. He smashed the palm of his hand up into the Klingon Commander's face, and was rewarded with a crunch and a spurt of blood beneath his hand.

K'tach howled and reeled backwards. Pike used the opportunity to bunch up his knees and launch his feet into the Klingon's chest, sending him flying backwards and off of Pike.

Now that Chris didn't have a Klingon sitting on his chest he took in deep breaths of precious oxygen and staggered to his feet, his eyes searched wildly for any weapon he could get his hands on. Before he managed to find anything useful K'tach had gotten to his feet and snarled at his enemy.

"You will die here today Captain." K'tach wiped the blood off of his face angrily and then advanced on his victim, fists swinging wildly and feet kicking out to try and trip Pike up.

Chris batted away the attacks and felt his heart begin to race crazily; he was pushing his weakening body to its limits just to keep the worst of K'tach's onslaught at bay. K'tach feinted left and then snuck up under the Captain's arms, gripping hold of them and grappling with everything he had. Pike held on for dear life as he was tossed around the room like a rag doll, K'tach's grip on him didn't weaken.

They staggered backwards and forwards like a weird game of tug of war, one getting the advantage one second only to lose it when the other pushed back. Chris saw stars when K'tach shoved him back against a cabinet and felt shattered items press nastily into his back, he replied in kind by shoving K'tach bodily over a table, revelling in the panic he saw in the Klingon's face when he lost ground.

K'tach suddenly got beneath Pike's defences and he narrowed in on the weakness, crashing his fists into the Captain's ribs again and again until he heard them snap beneath his power. Chris screamed out and staggered back, K'tach growled and headed towards his enemy with a triumphant grin on his face. Out of pure desperation to survive and keep himself out of the Klingon's clutches, Pike kicked out at his oncoming enemy and planted a heavy roundhouse kick directly into K'tach's stomach.

K'tach's eyes bulged in surprise and he staggered back; the Klingon clutched his injured mid section and started desperately trying to catch his breath. For his part Pike almost collapsed to the floor, that kick had not been a good idea for his ribs. He groaned miserably and wrapped his arms around his mid-section, desperate to try and support the aching and broken bones within. Chris leaned heavily against the wall behind him for support and swallowed down the urge to be sick when the room swayed, worryingly he could taste blood in his throat.

_Not a good sign._

Both enemies stayed rooted to the spot, caught their breath, and licked their wounds. They both eyed the other with suspicion and pure hatred. Chris had perhaps underestimated his opponent, even though he had managed to keep K'tach at bay it had only been that. The Klingon was like an oncoming storm, destroying all in his path and sooner or later he would take Chris down, it was inevitable with the way he was fighting and the injuries Pike had already sustained.

Chris started to feel dejected. It hadn't gone unnoticed that K'tach was the one nearer the exit, Pike would have to go through him to get out of this mess. Even if that weren't the case, there was no way he was retreating. He straightened and tensed when K'tach began to recover, and took a few tentative steps toward the federation Captain he wanted so badly to kill.

They both paused when they heard shouting in the corridor nearby followed by bodies falling and phasers blasting, Chris allowed a relieved smile to spill across his face when he realised this was nearly all over. Reinforcements were on the way.

Pike pushed himself away from the wall and began to circle K'tach, keeping the Klingon in view. "Give it up K'tach." Chris croaked, voice hoarse and raspy. "You can't win."

K'tach's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared angrily; he took another step towards his enemy before glancing towards the door. When he turned back he was smiling, and his eyes sparkled, like a new determination had been lit. His chilling words knocked a few degrees off the temperature in the room and sent a shiver down Chris's spine. "They can't save you."

* * *

**A/N - ****So I was supposed to finish this off and post it way way earlier, but then the Star Trek panel happened at comic con and I kinda lost the ability to breathe for a few hours. Discovery sounds intriguing, Pike, Spock and Number One are back in short treks and Picard! What a great day to be a trekkie! :D**

**Anyways back to the story, sorry for leaving Pike in such a predicament AGAIN, there's just one chapter left to this story and then I'll begin writing my next idea back in Discovery era :)**


	6. Chapter 6

K'tach let out an almighty battle cry, tilted his head down and charged at Pike like a raging bull storming towards a waving red flag. Chris was too shocked by the sudden charge to do anything fast; his brain was far too sluggish to react and by the time he realised what was happening K'tach was already halfway across the room. He knew he didn't have time to sidestep the attack, all he could do was bring up his hands and try to prepare for the tackle by adjusting his stance.

That was when K'tach barrelled into him with the force of a shuttle. Chris heard a whoosh of air and felt his lungs constrict painfully. His stance did nothing at all to stop the raging storm crashing through him. K'tach wrapped his arms around his enemy and lifted them both off the floor, taking them the short distance to the glass partition.

Before Chris knew which was way up he felt his head collide with something hard; his neck twisted sharply and then he heard something shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. He realised he and K'tach had smashed through the divider, well his head had smashed it at least. He heard himself distantly yell out in pain somehow finding some air to actually make a sound. He clung to K'tach as the Klingon shoved them both bodily through the partition, and they fell into the room on the other side with Chris underneath his attacker.

Pike cried out against his will when they hit the ground; he felt the agony of K'tach's body pressing into his broken ribs and the misery from the glass shredding his back beneath him. To top it all off the weight and momentum of his opponent forced his head down to the ground, everything went dark for a split-second when the back of his head thudded painfully against the concrete floor.

Chris gasped for air like a fish out of water, desperately fighting for oxygen and fighting off the darkness that ebbed at the edge of his vision. He felt K'tach begin to shift but he stayed on top of the Captain, straddling him and pinning him down effectively. The lack of air almost caused Pike to pass out; it was only when K'tach laughed nastily and pressed his knee into Chris' chest that he was roused from the darkness. He groaned and tried to shift away from the stabbing pain in his chest but K'tach kept him pinned beneath him.

Knowing his ribs weren't going to get a reprieve, Chris used the pain to ground his broken body and mind in the here and now; he forced his eyes to open and looked up into the hateful eyes of his enemy. K'tach was smiling down at him triumphantly, he unsheathed his knife and held it against Pike's throat. The Captain stilled and bent his neck back as far as he could, trying to run from the glinting blade that was poised to take his life. When he tried to get his limbs to react he realised his legs and lower body were completely pinned; he wasn't going anywhere.

The thought ran through his mind that maybe this was the end. Number One was going to kill him for this, then again he would be dead anyway so he wouldn't have to sit through the chastising. He felt a little guilty that he had run head first into this situation, and now his haste and recklessness had gotten him killed. Really he should know better and he should have better control over his emotions. He was leaving the Enterprise without a Captain, he had been selfish and foolish. The only solace he had was that if he was going to leave his ship to anyone then it was going to the right person; Una would make a good Captain.

All these thoughts raced through his mind faster than the speed of light, and all the while K'tach grinned and pressed the knife hard enough to draw blood.

"I told you that you would die today." He hissed.

Chris muttered a silent prayer and closed his eyes; he gritted his teeth and waited for the sharp pain to cut across his neck. Strangely though K'tach made a negative noise and then the knife's edge was gone. Pike opened his eyes, puzzled and confused. If he had been hoping for a miraculous rescue or change of heart then he was going to be severely disappointed. K'tach still had the knife in hand and he was raising it above his head.

"Your death will not be that quick." K'tach promised. "I will cut out your heart."

Chris watched K'tach's arms lower in slow motion, seeing the arc of the path and clocking that the deadly weapon was heading straight towards his heart as promised. Purely on instinct he forced his arms up and grabbed ahold of K'tach's; he grunted and strained against the overwhelming force that his enemy was pressing down with. The action pulled at his injuries, set his ribs on fire and caused just enough agony that he almost passed out. The only thing that kept him conscious was the knowledge that if he let go now he would die.

The Captain grunted and groaned as his arms trembled; he tried to put every inch of strength he had into holding K'tach's knife away from his body. It was no good though the only thing he managed to do was keep the knife just shy of piercing his skin; he didn't have the strength to push it back or disarm the enemy sitting atop him.

His mind flew into panic mode as the knife began to inch slowly closer, it was getting dangerously close to puncturing the skin above his heart. Chris glanced round him desperately and tried to get his brain in gear, and he snapped out of the defeatist attitude as he realised he wanted to live. He would fight like hell until the end.

K'tach noted the determination and wanted to stamp it out. "Give up, you cannot win!"

Chris ignored the taunt and let it wash over his head. He spied a way out on his right, in reach of his hand and potentially lethal enough to do the job. The only problem was there was no way he could get to it without letting K'tach stab him. He was barely keeping the weapon at bay with both hands, he would have no chance with just the one.

After staring up into the snarling face above him Chris knew there was no other way; he had dwindling few choices here. If he stayed as he was K'tach would wear him down and impale him anyway, the other option was not a pleasant one but it was his only chance of living.

Pike committed himself to the decision and angled the Klingon's knife upwards and hoped to hell it would miss his heart, with one hand he pulled the knife into himself, making sure the original target was altered. With his other hand he reached desperately for what he had seen: a large shard of glass.

K'tach's face was a picture of confusion as he realised his enemy had just impaled himself. It was a shame Chris couldn't focus on it. As soon as the blade entered his flesh he lost all ability to think or move, all he could do was scream and thrash under the burning sensation. It was so sudden and tearing that he didn't really know how he managed to stop himself from passing out. He shook his brain away from the pain, bit his tongue and picked up the shard of glass before K'tach had a chance to react.

K'tach had a grin on his face when he heard his victim's cry of pain, he was distracted by the supposed victory and never saw Chris' attack coming. The Captain thrust the shard of glass up and under the Commander's armour pushing the entire thing into K'tach's neck until it disappeared. K'tach's eyes bulged and he gasped and gurgled, hands coming up to the thing impaling his throat and looking like he had just had the shock of his life. Chris felt warm blood trickle down his arm and he had the strange thought that he couldn't tell what was his or his enemy's blood anymore.

Chris stared up into the Klingon's eyes until he slipped away, he watched the light leave K'tach's eyes and his body fell limp like a rag doll. K'tach's face went slack and he made a horrifying gurgling sound with his last breath. Luckily Pike had the foresight to give the Klingon a shove to the left so he didn't end up falling on top of him, well not entirely.

K'tach's legs stayed over Pike's lower body and continued to pin him down on the floor. His upper body toppled over though and landed with a dull thud, his lifeless eyes stared out into the distance; they would never see anything again.

Pike heard footsteps approaching quickly. He was too tired and too broken to defend himself further, he could barely concentrate on the simple act of breathing. He couldn't feel his left arm anymore, and there was so much blood; he felt like he was swimming in the sticky substance. Everything _burned_.

"Captain!" Someone shouted in alarm.

Chris forced his eyes open and blearily stared out, he eventually noticed that someone was crouching over him and currently shoving the Klingons body off of him completely. Pike was grateful for the assist; the dead weight had become heavy and it felt so constricting having a body pressing down on his chest. Now it was gone he felt like he could breath somewhat normally again, so his next breaths were long and deep to gather as much sweet oxygen as his lungs could manage.

He felt a sudden spike of agony and traced it back to his left arm. Chris glanced at it and saw that K'tach's weapon was still sticking out of his flesh; the handle glinted in the emergency lighting. Pike had a sudden urge to get the thing away from him; he felt nauseous and sick that something of K'tach's was currently a part of him.

The knife began to burn so badly that it felt like it was on fire inside of him, it hurt more than anything he could remember; it hurt more than the mind probe. Without thinking Chris yelled out and went to grip the handle with his other arm, he wanted the thing out of him _now._

"Captain don't touch it!" The same voice shouted urgently then there were hands on his arm restraining him just shy of the hilt.

"Get it out…" Pike heard himself mumble desperately, and he choked back a sob as his arms were jostled again by the mystery person. He blearily glanced up and saw that the restraining hold belonged to Spock.

Spock shook his head urgently and held the Captain's arm at bay with one hand, reaching for his communicator with the other. "It's severed an artery Captain, we cannot move it."

Chris blinked and tried to ingest the information, all he knew was that there was a lot of blood pooling underneath him and that the knife was getting hotter. He wanted it out now. He weakly pushed against Spock's grip and went for the handle again, mumbling incoherently.

"Enterprise, two to transport directly to sick-bay." Spock ordered urgently.

Pike wasn't sure if he blacked out but he supposed he must have done because one minute he was next to K'tach's corpse and the next he was on a bed surrounded by white lights and beeping. He squinted and tried to escape from the invasion, the sounds and brightness amplified the thudding in his head until he couldn't straight.

"Chris, don't touch it!"

His eyes shot open and he felt strong hands gripping his arm. He looked down and saw he had been reaching for the knife that was _still_ impaled in his shoulder, Chris just couldn't understand why it was still there, and why it was so damn hot.

"Out…" The Captain muttered miserably, slurring the word, not able to manage anything more than one syllable but needing someone to know that he needed this thing away from him. He could still see K'tach's sneering face holding it above him.

"We'll get it out Chris don't worry, just lay back and let us take care of you."

That voice sounded familiar, more than that it sounded safe. Chris blinked through the haze and recognised Boyce flapping above him, rushing around his bedside and ordering people for more gauze; for blood. Pike felt a pressure against his shoulder and saw that Boyce was busy applying pressure around the knife, and shouting orders at everyone rushing around him.

Chris wearily lifted his hand and balked when he saw how much blood there was. He tried to keep track of what was going on around him but when Boyce pressed hard it all got too much and the darkness began to descend.

He knew he was forgetting something important, something vital. It was just on the tip of his tongue. It came to him all of a sudden and he forced his mouth to move to voice the question; his tongue felt heavy and unwieldy in his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut in agony and forced out the words.

"Una…Spo-" He muttered.

A reassuring hand appeared on his chest and he felt his hand being placed gently down in a comfortable position. "They're fine Captain, everyone's fine."

It was a relief to hear those words finally and to know that everyone else was alive. With the great weight lifted Chris sank back into the bed and closed his eyes, he focussed on breathing through the agony that was his body. He felt something press against the side of his neck and then there was a small hiss.

"Rest now. It's all going to be okay."

Pike trusted the voice. Everything darkened and he lost the strength to keep his eyes open. His mind began to shut down and the sounds of sick-bay fell away to nothing. Feeling that the pain was numbed here Chris stopped resisting and jumped head first into the darkness; he trusted the words that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Spock wandered into the officer's lounge; he glanced around the room and recognised a few familiar faces fresh off Alpha shift. When he passed one of the viewports he saw Thennoll far below, it looked so inconsequential and tiny from the Enterprise, there was no sign of the chaos the Klingons had wrought from orbit and there were no visible scars from the disastrous away mission. No. Those scars were etched as deeply into the away team as K'tach's knife had been in the Captain's shoulder.

Spock shook the thought away before his mind fell back into that mindset, that was the last thing he needed to happen in public. He glanced around the rest of the lounge and found who he was looking for on one of the far tables, overlooking a beautiful view of Thennoll. Spock had received a surprising message from his Captain to meet for a casual debrief of sorts; he hadn't expected Pike to be back on his feet so soon.

Captain Pike and Number One were casually chatting over a number of data pads and reports, Spock assumed that the first officer was catching the Captain up on everything that had occurred with the palace since the incident. This was the first time Spock had seen the Captain since he had been kicked out of sick-bay two days earlier, Boyce had run a legion of tests on Spock and Number One and shooed them out soon after. Pike had still been unconscious at the time although the surgeries on his shoulder had been complete and his condition was stable, it was the only reason why Spock let himself be pushed out of the medical wing.

The Captain certainly looked better than he had done on the bio-bed, then again Spock couldn't imagine anyone looking much worse. He was dressed in casual loose-fitting clothes, most likely a condition from Boyce to prove that he wasn't working. Spock was actually amused that the good Doctor thought he could keep Christopher Pike away from work.

His arm was in a sling and it looked like he was still getting used to the hinderance. Spock noticed an abundance of bandages and wrappings bulging out from under Pike's shirt; the stiff movements and the winces that the Captain tried to hide from view. He looked weary, the kind of weariness that scarred every inch of his body. Putting the sling aside he had cuts and stitches all over his face, vivid bruises damn near everywhere and he still didn't have his usual colour back. Also Spock knew for a fact that broken ribs could not heal that quickly, not to mention the knife wound that had ripped apart his shoulder. Just the act of being in the lounge was foolish; Christopher Pike was overdoing it once again.

Seeing the strained movements and the lines of pain that flashed across the Captain's face; the aftermath of the injuries took Spock back to that moment on Thennoll, when he had honestly thought that he had been too late. He had made it into the room not long after hearing Pike's cry of pain, and what he had seen would stay with him for a long time to come.

There were two bodies in the middle of the room and they were surrounded by broken glass and blood, there had been so much blood. Spock had raced over to the pair and soon realised that the Klingon sat on top of Pike was dead, and for a second Spock had thought his Captain was to. In all the tight scrapes Pike had gotten in Spock had never seen him this beaten and broken. His eyes had immediately sought the vicious knife that was impaled in Pike, and he had noted how close it was to the man's heart and how much blood was gushing out of the wound.

Spock flung K'tach off of the Captain's bloodied body and immediately started staunching the most vicious looking wounds. Pike had reacted to the movement badly; he had fought with Spock to pull the thing out and screamed each time Spock held him still. Pike had been delirious with pain and completely deaf to Spock's insistence to keep still, Spock hated to fight against his friend in such a state but it had been necessary to save his life.

Spock shook himself free of the unpleasant memory as he approached the far end of the room, that was the past and this was now. Christopher Pike was alive and he no longer had a Klingon's knife embedded in his shoulder.

"All the Thennollian prisoners have received treatment and are in the process of being rehoused on Thennoll, all the Klingons are either in custody or dead. We're liaising with Chancellor L'Rell so the survivors can stand trial for their numerous crimes against the Klingon people."

"Well done Number One."

The Captain was paying attention to the data pad that his first officer had slid across to him, so Una was the first to notice Spock's approach. She gathered up her materials and smiled at him. "Spock, how are you doing?"

Spock went with his usual response and answered on autopilot. "I am well Commander, and yourself?"

By this point the Captain had registered Spock's arrival. He placed the data pad on the table and met Spock with a genuine, warm smile. Spock noticed Pike's eyes flick up and down his body, performing a visual scan of his body. It wasn't lost on Spock that it was the same thing he had done when he had first seen his Captain, they both had the need to see the resulting damage for themselves.

"I'm fine now there's no-one rummaging around in my head." Una replied with a light lilt to her voice as she made light of the horrors that had happened on Thennoll.

Spock had to admit that she did look in far better shape than the Captain, although Una had rushed back to duty as well, shoving aside the nasty after effects of the mind probe's assault. It was both their way though; the command team of the Enterprise pushed themselves harder than most.

Una glanced between Spock and Chris and a knowing smile tugged at her lips, she got to her feet and started to leave. "I'll leave you two to it."

Spock felt a little awkward that Una could read them both so easily, and that she had seen his reluctance to jump into the debrief. As usual she spared no blushes and threw them both into it, whilst taking herself out of the equation at the same time.

Chris chuckled warmly and shook his head as he watched Number One make her way out of the lounge. He soon turned to Spock who was still standing stiffly beside the table, he hadn't wanted to be presumptive.

Pike indicated a hand to the newly vacated seat. "Please, sit down Spock."

Spock pulled out the chair and placed his report and debrief of the mission on the table. Pike eyed the data pad but soon moved his attention back to Spock, still clearly not done with his scrutiny or analysis. Spock resisted the urge to squirm under the stare and kept his expression clear, staring right back at the Captain and meeting his eye perfectly.

* * *

Pike studied Spock carefully, noticing the stiffness as he took a seat. The slight tightness in his shoulders and twitch would have been missed by most people but not Pike; he knew him too well. He had already checked in with Boyce and learnt aside from some broken ribs and bruising Spock was alright and he would heal soon enough; a lot sooner than he would.

His shoulder still burned, his face felt bruised and his body was stiff and unwieldy. Still anything to be released from the clutches of Boyce and the mind-numbingly tedious bed-ridden time in sick-bay. Chris hated being stuck in one place; over the years he had spent more than his fair share in the Doctor's care, so now he fought to get out as soon as humanly possible; much to the chagrin of Boyce.

Noticing Spock was still waiting for him to start the conversation Pike indicated to the data pad. "Your report?"

Spock snapped out of whatever thought process he had got lost in and picked up the pad, handing it over to the Captain. "Yes sir."

Pike instinctively went to reach out with his left hand and winced when he pulled at the sling, he covered it over with a wry smile, but still clocked Spock's sudden alarmed look at his gasp of pain. He waved off Spock's concern and took the proffered pad with his other hand. "Still getting used to this thing." He indicated the sling and scowled darkly at the thing.

Spock's gaze snapped to the sling and he suddenly looked paler. Chris mused that Spock was most likely thinking back to the past, and to the state he had found his Captain in when he was bleeding out on the floor. A touch of a frown appeared on Spock's forehead and he pursed his lips unhappily. Chris watched Spock's reactions carefully, like he always did, cataloguing what he could and noticing that Spock was being oddly open for once.

All the signs were pointing towards Spock being nervous which was another unusual thing to add to the list. After taking a long look at Pike's bandaged shoulder his eyes snapped up, and he broached the subject he had been avoiding since he'd arrived. "What happened with K'tach?"

Chris stamped down on the initial visceral reaction to that question; the flinch that it provoked and the flash of pain striking his shoulder. He knew what Spock was really asking. He had gone after K'tach with uncharacteristic anger and blood lust; he had wanted to end that man's life more than anything else.

He swallowed heavily and averted his gaze from Spock's watchful gaze, he eventually answered although he dodged the question entirely. "You were there."

Spock ignored the attempted diversion. "I only arrived after it was all over Captain."

Pike heard the unspoken question hang in the air between them. Chris felt ashamed as he remembered his anger; his rage. He had eventually snapped out of it but only when he had been fighting for his life, he had fought in self defence and K'tach had died as a result of that. There hadn't been anger in the final act of ending his life, just a will to survive and pure instinct.

"He tried to kill me." Pike spoke quietly. "So I killed him."

Spock remained stoic and silent. He drank the words in, took a breath and replied. "I am glad that you were the one not killed."

There was something about Spock's tone that made Pike pause, he hadn't sounded as unemotional or distant as usual. Pike studied his officer carefully and saw a flash of something unfamiliar in his eyes, something which he would usually associate with cold anger. Spock usually said what he meant and held nothing back, this time however Pike could read the underlying thought and implications of his words: it was a surprise, a complete shock and something which he doubted would ever be spoken aloud.

Spock was glad that K'tach was dead, just as he was; deep down at least.

Pike thought back to the moment in the cell when he had swore to kill K'tach, when Spock had heard his un-Starfleet thought. At the time he had been in and out of it, but now he really thought hard he remembered Spock's strained expression and now he analysed it in a new light he was certain that Spock had shared his feelings and intent towards K'tach.

Not that either of them should ever have had such thoughts…

Pike noticed Spock start to tense up as he noticed his Captain's scrutiny. Chris loosened up and quickly banished the past to where it belonged. He knew that with K'tach dead and the mind probe being torn apart this mission would fall into the history books. There was no reason for them to hang onto their ill feelings for the Klingon Commander.

So instead of bringing up the dangerous question of what Spock really meant by his words and what he had wanted to do back in the cell, Pike smiled and clapped Spock on the shoulder warmly. "So am I Spock."

Chris saw the tension in his friend's body deflate and he loosened up a notch. For Spock it was the equivalent of letting out a human's relieved sigh. Pike deftly moved the conversation onwards, he had noticed Spock's supposedly careful studies of him ever since he had joined him on the deck. Spock's eyes had drifted to his shoulder more than once.

"Boyce says there's no permanent damage, to my mind or my shoulder." Pike kept a conversational tone but smiled inwardly when he saw the burden being lifted off Spock's shoulders, his expression seemed lighter and there was even a touch of a smile pulling at his lips.

Spock turned his eyes away from Pike's shoulder finally. "I am glad." It was something that he had obviously been burdened with ever since he had found his Captain bleeding out on the floor.

Chris felt a little guilty that he hadn't alleviated Spock's concerns earlier, the problem was of course that Spock was very hard to read and Chris hadn't really known how the events down on Thennoll would have affected Spock.

Pike ran a hand through his hair and frowned. "Although I am a little confused that my mind healed so well, some memories feel fuzzy but everything important appears to be there. I remember the probe burning through my mind, K'tach even said it would destroy my memories and brain cells for good."

Spock's face twitched minutely but the emotional reaction to the brutal description was soon obliterated. "The probe was highly experimental. Clearly it did not work as intended."

"Here's to small miracles." Chris quipped. "I'm guessing the probe didn't work on your mind at all?"

Spock smiled tightly. "No. On Vulcan we learn to defend our minds against mental attacks from a young age; to shield our most precious memories during mind melds. The probe was... painful but unsuccessful."

Pike didn't agree with his friend's use of the word _painful._ That made it sound almost arbitrary. Chris remembered how agonising the mind probe had been, he suspected Spock was downplaying the consequences as was his way. Pike let the matter go, knowing he would simply be a hypocrite if he called Spock out on the very thing he was literally doing by being out of bed.

"The good news is whatever information K'tach got from our minds has been quarantined. Teams are sifting through it before they will destroy the lot. From what they've gathered so far it seems the information was mostly from our past and contained only flashes of what he truly wanted."

"That is fortunate." Spock replied steadily, the anger he had displayed earlier was hidden expertly once more.

They both sat silently and reflected on the incident. Spock was content with silences, Pike was not, not when he had something he needed to get off his chest. He started to feel uncomfortable and began fidgeting in his seat, something which didn't go unnoticed by Spock. Chris bit the bullet and waged onwards; he knew it was good for him to eat humble pie every now and again.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to your concerns, and that I didn't take them seriously."

Spock refused to let Pike take the blame. "It is understandable Captain, I had no proof or evidence for my concerns."

"Still." Pike knew better than to let Spock shoulder the blame alone, not when it was down to him to use the information given to him to make good decisions. "I should know better by now the difference between overstating and understating matters."

"I'm not sure what you mean Captain."

Chris had a distant look to his eyes as he thought back on his mistakes, and where everything had gone wrong. It was the only thing he'd been thinking about in his solitude in sick-bay. "I got too lost in the assignment; too caught up in the diplomacy of everything to notice the signs as you did."

Spock quirked an eyebrow. "In fairness I did gather my information through tools and skills which you did not have." Referring to his touch-telepathy and tricorder.

Chris appreciated Spock's attempt to let him off the hook but they both knew that everyone's lives had been in his hands down there. "It's no excuse. Most crew members come to me with that kind of information I would note the intel but remain open-minded, over exaggeration and over-active imaginations are a very human trait. That was my biggest mistake Spock. You're not most crew members."

Spock remained still and more stoic than he'd been all night, although Chris could read that he was interested in his Captain's insight. "I should have taken your concerns far more seriously. For you to bring up something in the first place you have to be almost certain there's a problem. I was treating what you were telling me as an over-exaggeration when it was in fact the opposite."

Spock looked a little uncomfortable and avoided meeting Pike's stare. "I apologise for not-"

Chris held up a hand and stopped him in his tracks. "No apologies necessary Lieutenant, it's my fault and something I won't put aside again. Please accept _my_ apologies Spock."

"There is no apology necessary Captain." Spock parroted back, a playful twinkle in his eye and the beginnings of a smile pulling at his lips.

Pike rolled his eyes good-naturedly and tipped his head, acknowledging that the matter was closed and they were just as stubborn as each other. Chris had known Spock for years yet there were times like this when he felt he was getting a glimmer of the real Spock beneath all the layers, other times he felt like he barely knew his friend at all.

He'd watched Spock come along way whilst he had been serving aboard the Enterprise, and he'd seen him grow so much as a man, a Vulcan and a human. It had been a privilege to watch his journey of self discovery. He hoped that he was still around when Spock became the man he was always supposed to be, when he made peace with his warring sides and simply let himself be who he was.

_Finis_

* * *

**A/N - ****Yay! I finished it! Hope you all enjoy the final chapter and conclusion to this tale :)**

**I'm currently working on another Pike centric story with the Discovery crew, as well as a one shot with Pike and Spock. I'm not sure which one will be posted first but I'm hoping to work on both over the weekend. Both of course include angst and hurt/comfort for my fave Captain so prepare the bubble wrap :D**


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